What happened
A flight originating from Hahn Airport, destined for Rome-Ciampino Airport, was carrying 14 passengers and 8 crew members at the time of the accident. During the approach phase for runway 15, the aircraft was established on the ILS and communicating with the tower when the captain identified birds on the flight path. As the aircraft neared the runway, the crew initiated a go-around procedure by activating the TO/GA pushbutton.
During this maneuver, the aircraft struck a large flock of approximately 90 starlings. This impact caused a loud noise and resulted in the stalling of both engines. Despite the crew maintaining a nose-up attitude, the aircraft lost altitude and experienced a progressive reduction in airspeed. The stick shaker activated at an altitude of 21 feet as the angle of attack increased. The aircraft subsequently struck the ground near taxiway AC, roughly midway down the runway, under aerodynamic stall conditions. The impact involved the lower fuselage tail section and the main landing gear, with the left main gear detaching during the subsequent run. The aircraft eventually came to a stop near the threshold of runway 33. All passengers and crew were evacuated via a ladder truck and emergency slides.
Findings
The primary cause of the loss of altitude and subsequent impact was the collision with a dense flock of starlings, which led to the simultaneous failure of both engines.