A fast, high sink-rate, nosewheel-first touchdown in a storm started a sequence which led a Britannia Airways Boeing 757 to swerve off a runway at Girona, Spain, and break up, says the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB). There were two serious injuries in the crash last September.
After going around from a VOR/DME night approach to runway 02, the captain flew an autopilot-linked instrument landing system approach to 20. The runway was in sight at 500ft (150m) above ground level (AGL), and the tower notified surface wind as 150° at 6kt (11km/h). At the 270ft AGL decision height, the captain elected to land, but suddenly the pilots "lost outside visual reference", and the sink rate warning sounded. Thunderstorm activity was notified for the area.
At a 141kt centreline touchdown, the nose gear was punched up into the electronics bay. The AAIB says: "The failure mechanism of the nose landing gear structure and the possible effects of this on aircraft electrical and control systems" is to be examined. Although the AAIB refuses to elaborate, this may refer to the possibility that engine control damage may have caused power asymmetry.
Source: Flight International
