Accident Sequence
The aircraft was conducting a local training flight at Charleroi-Gosselies Airport with a crew of three: one instructor and two student pilots. After landing from Brussels, the students practiced ILS approaches to runway 25 followed by touch-and-go landings. The first six approaches were uneventful. The students then switched seats. The second student's first approach and touch-and-go were also uneventful.
During the second touch-and-go, a flock of ring doves was observed crossing the runway. As the airplane rotated, several birds were ingested into the engines. The instructor took over control and attempted to continue the takeoff. The airplane did not respond to control inputs and appeared to decelerate. The instructor then decided to abort the takeoff. However, insufficient runway length remained, and the Boeing overran the runway, striking localizer antennas and skidding. The aircraft lost its undercarriage and came to rest in flames on a road approximately 320 meters beyond the runway end.
Occupant Evacuation
All three occupants evacuated safely. The aircraft was subsequently destroyed by fire.
Probable Cause
The official investigation identified the probable cause as the interruption of the takeoff maneuver at the time of the bird impact, followed by a stop for undetermined reasons. The deceleration due to braking prevented the aircraft from responding to the pilot-instructor's aileron inputs. The takeoff was interrupted while the remaining runway length was insufficient to stop the aircraft. Additionally, a tailwind component caused the aircraft to travel a longer distance down the runway.