Portal:Spain/Selected article/13

Britannia Airways Flight BY226A was an international charter flight from Cardiff, Wales, UK, which crashed on landing at Girona Airport, Spain on 14 September 1999, and broke apart. Of the 236 passengers and 9 crew on board, there were no fatalities, but two were seriously injured and 42 sustained minor injuries. The Boeing 757-204 aircraft, registration G-BYAG, was damaged beyond economic repair and scrapped. The holiday charter flight was landing at night, through thunderstorms with heavy rain at 21:47 UTC (23:47 local). Several preceding flights had diverted to Barcelona and this was planned as BY226A's alternate. The weather prior to the landing approach was reported as:

Surface wind 350/6 kt, visibility 4 km, thunderstorm with heavy rain, cloud 3-4 octas at 1,500 feet, 1-2 octas cumulonimbus at 3,000 feet, 5-7 octas at 4,000 feet, temperature 20°C/ dewpoint 20°C, QNH 1010 mb, remarks recent rain.

The crew initially executed the VOR/DME non-precision instrument approach procedure to runway 02. Upon becoming visual, the crew determined that the aircraft was not adequately aligned with the runway and initiated a missed approach. A change in wind direction now favoured the opposite runway, so the aircraft was positioned for an ILS (Instrument Landing System) approach to runway 20. The aircraft descended below cloud and became visual with the runway at around 500 feet above ground level. At a late stage in the final approach, the airfield lighting failed for a few seconds. The aircraft touched down hard, bounced, and made a second heavier touchdown causing substantial damage to the nosewheel and its supports. This caused further damage to the aircraft systems, including loss of electrical power, interference with controls and an uncommanded increase in thrust.