Background
On 19 November 2010, at 1535 UTC, a Cessna 501 Citation, registration G-VUEM, was destroyed in an accident at Birmingham Airport. The aircraft was conducting a commercial cargo flight under the command of a 58-year-old pilot with 7,200 total flying hours, including 3,000 on type. The co-pilot, flying the approach, had 1,785 total hours, with 735 on type. The aircraft was powered by two Williams International FJ44-2A turbofan engines.
Flight History
The crew reported for duty at Liverpool Airport at 0845 hrs. Their task involved collecting a transplant organ from Belfast Aldergrove Airport and delivering it to Birmingham. The aircraft departed Belfast Aldergrove at 1450 hrs with the co-pilot as pilot flying. The flight was uneventful until the approach to Birmingham.
Approach
During the ILS approach to Runway 15, the autopilot initially failed to capture the localiser, prompting the co-pilot to disconnect it and fly manually. At 10 nm from touchdown, the radar controller advised of a fog bank on final approach and reported runway visual range (RVR) of 1,400 m at touchdown. The commander sighted the airfield, and landing clearance was given at 6 nm. Both pilots recalled standard procedure calls of '500 above' and '100 above' the decision altitude (DA) of 503 ft amsl (200 ft aal), but neither could recall a 'decision' or 'go-around' call. The aircraft descended below DA without the required visual references and struck the glideslope antenna at approximately 1.1 to 0.9 nm from touchdown. The impact caused a fire on the left wing, and the aircraft crashed onto the grass to the right of the runway.
Rescue and Firefighting
The aerodrome was Rescue and Fire Fighting (RFF) Category 9. The fire station is east of Runway 15/33. At 1536 hrs, ATC alerted the RFF service. Due to fog and wet ground, fire appliances had difficulty locating the crash site. The first appliance reached the aircraft at 1539 hrs and applied foam to the left side, suppressing the fire quickly. A fireman assisted the commander, who was initially trapped in his seat. The co-pilot evacuated through the main cabin door, suffering flash burns. The commander freed himself and was taken to hospital. The right engine remained running until shut down by a fireman. The transplant organ was recovered from the cabin.
Wreckage Examination
The wreckage trail began at the glideslope antenna tower, 146 m west of the runway centreline, and extended 220 m on a heading of 146°M. The aircraft came to rest on its belly 138 m from the runway centreline, heading 284°M. The left wing was severely fire-damaged, with fuel from the ruptured tank feeding the fire. Ground marks indicated the aircraft rotated 225° left after ground impact. The right flap and left main landing gear detached. The glideslope tower was bent backwards about 170°, with the top antenna detached. The flaps were fully deployed (40°) and the landing gear was selected down. The anti-ice switch was off. The left engine ingested debris while rotating. The accident site was soft and waterlogged.