CHRISTINA MACKENZIE / PARIS
A pilot heart attack does not appear to have been a factor in the 22 June Brit Air accident at Brest, France, according to the investigating magistrate. Studies are at an early stage and the Bureau d'Enquête Accidents does not expect to publish its preliminary report until next month.
The Brit Air Bombardier CRJ100 began a stable instrument landing system approach that gradually became unstable, and just before it hit the ground the co-pilot was repeatedly encouraging the captain to increase power (Flight International, 1-7 July). The aircraft hit the ground 2km (1nm) short of the runway, and all but one of the 24 people on board escaped, with the captain being the only fatality. The aircraft caught fire and burned out.
The magistrate, François Nicot, says the pilot's body was badly burned, so the autopsy has been difficult. However, Nicot says investigators were able to rule out a heart attack.
Nicot says that although the health aspect is just one of the hypotheses investigators are working on, it is one of the principal theories based on evidence from the cockpit voice recorder and from what the co-pilot said during the approach, and during subsequent interviews.
Source: Flight International
