What happened
During a local training session at Charleroi-Gosselies Airport (CRL), a Boeing aircraft carrying three crew members—consisting of one instructor and two student pilots—was performing instrument landing system (ILS) approach practice. After several successful approaches, the students swapped positions in the cockpit. While the second student was executing a touch-and-go maneuver on runway 25, a flock of ring doves crossed the active runway.
As the aircraft began its rotation, multiple birds were ingested into the engines. In response to the strike, the instructor took control of the aircraft in an attempt to proceed with the takeoff. However, the plane failed to respond to control inputs and appeared to lose speed. The instructor then initiated an aborted takeoff. Due to a lack of remaining runway distance, the Boeing overran the threshold, colliding with localizer antennas and skidding off the pavement. The aircraft lost its landing gear and eventually caught fire on a road situated approximately 320 meters beyond the end of the runway. There were zero fatalities, as all three occupants managed to evacuate the burning wreckage safely.
Findings
Investigations into the accident highlighted several contributing factors regarding the sequence of events during the takeoff interruption. The instructor assumed control of the aircraft following the bird strike without notifying the co-pilot. At the time this occurred, the aircraft was already decelerating because the brakes had been applied, though it could not be determined which crew member engaged them. This deceleration prevented the aircraft from responding normally to aileron inputs. Ultimately, the decision to abort the takeoff at high speed left insufficient runway for the aircraft to stop within the pavement limits, a situation further complicated by a tailwind component that increased the total distance traveled.