What happened
On 17 January 2011, a Britten-Norman Trislander, registration G-FTSE, was conducting a commercial passenger flight between the Channel Islands. While performing a non-precision NDB approach to Runway 26 at Alderney Aerodrome, the aircraft encountered challenging weather conditions, including low visibility and broken cloud.
As the aircraft descended, the pilot found the aircraft was not aligned with the runway centerline. At an altitude of approximately 300 ft, the pilot identified the approach lights and performed an abrupt maneuver to visually intercept the extended centerline. During this correction, the right wingtip made contact with the runway surface, causing damage to the navigation light.
Following the touchdown, the pilot initiated a go-around. During this maneuver, the aircraft drifted toward the edge of the runway and departed the paved surface before becoming airborne again. There were no fatalities and no injuries to the single crew member or the five passengers on board.
The investigation
Investigators examined the aircraft's flight path and the environmental conditions at the time of the incident. Radar data confirmed that the aircraft was not properly aligned with the runway approach path when it was approximately 700 m from the threshold.
An inspection of the runway surface revealed tyre marks and broken glass from the navigation light. The investigation also reviewed the operator's procedures regarding stabilized approaches. While the pilot's maneuvers were not a direct breach of the specific manual instructions regarding significant maneuvers below 300 ft, the investigation noted that the pilot was not yet visually in command of the aerodrome environment when the decision to continue the approach was made.
Findings
- The right wingtip of the G-FTSE struck the ground due to a maneuver performed close to the ground to align the aircraft with the runway.
- The aircraft was not stabilized on the approach path when the pilot attempted to visually intercept the centerline.
- The aircraft departed the runway surface during the subsequent go-around maneuver.
- Weather conditions at the time provided visibility that was below the minimum descent height requirements for the NDB approach, though the pilot attempted to use minimum visibility for a visual approach.