British Midland Airways Flight BD092 Accident (G-OBME)

Incident Overview and Initial Anomaly British Midland Airways Flight BD092 departed London-Heathrow Airport at 1952LT, bound for Belfast, Northern Ireland. Approximately 13 minutes after takeoff, while climbing through flight level 283, the crew experienced moderate to severe vibration and detected a smell of fire in the cockpit. The source states that the outer panel of one of the number 1 engine fan blades detached, which caused compressor stalls and airframe shuddering. Believing the number 2 engine had been damaged, the crew throttled it back. The shuddering stopped, and the number 2 engine was shut down. The crew then decided to divert to East Midlands Airport. ## Approach and Impact The flight was cleared for an approach to runway 27. At 900 feet, 2.4 nautical miles from the runway threshold, the number 1 engine power suddenly decreased. As the speed fell below 125 knots, the stick shaker activated, and the aircraft struck trees at a speed of 115 knots. The aircraft continued and impacted the western carriageway of the M1 motorway 10 meters lower, coming to rest against a wooded embankment 1,023 meters short of the runway threshold. Forty-seven passengers were killed, while all other occupants were injured, some seriously. ## Official Findings The official probable cause was that the operating crew shut down the number 2 engine after a fan blade had fractured in the number 1 engine. The number 1 engine subsequently suffered a major thrust loss due to secondary fan damage after power had been increased during the final approach to land. Contributing factors to the incorrect response of the flight crew included: the combination of heavy engine vibration, noise, shuddering, and an associated smell of fire were outside their training and experience; they reacted to the initial engine problem prematurely and in a way that was contrary to their training; they did not assimilate the indications on the engine instrument display before they throttled back the number 2 engine; as the number 2 engine was throttled back, the noise and shuddering associated with the surging of the number 1 engine ceased, persuading them that they had correctly identified the defective engine; and they were not informed of the flames which had emanated from the number 1 engine and which had been observed by many on board, including 3 cabin attendants in the aft cabin.