What happened
On January 12, 2011, an Air Burkina McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registration XT-ABF, was conducting a ferry flight from Paris-Orly to Olbia, Italy. The aircraft was operating with its landing gear extended due to a hydraulic failure that had occurred during a previous flight. Because the crew lacked the specific documentation required to calculate fuel consumption for a flight with extended gear, they carried only a 5% margin above their estimated needs.
During the flight, the crew realized that the increased drag from the landing gear was causing fuel consumption to exceed their projections. Approximately 23 minutes into the flight, the crew decided to abort the mission and return to Paris-Orly.
While attempting an ILS approach to runway 26, the crew encountered a malfunction in the VOR/ILS equipment on the captain's side. During the maneuvering, the aircraft descended below the authorized altitude, triggering a Minimum Safe Altitude Warning (MSAW). The crew subsequently transitioned to a VOR/DME approach. Due to the critical fuel state, the crew felt compelled to continue the descent despite the weather minima being 900 ft, while the cloud ceiling was only 300 ft.
As the aircraft descended, the crew observed the runway to the left. In an attempt to intercept the runway, the pilot performed large lateral maneuvers. The aircraft touched down mid-runway and came to a stop only a few meters from the end of the pavement.
The investigation
The BEA investigation focused on the flight preparation, the crew's management of the fuel shortage, and the technical failures encountered during the approach. Investigators examined the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) to reconstruct the sequence of events, specifically looking at the navigation equipment failure and the crew's decision-making process during the approach under Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC).