What happened
A cargo flight operating from Manchester to Frankfurt departed late at 0119 hours GMT due to a technical issue with a door warning device. The aircraft was flying under IFR flight rules via several beacons and airways. At 0405 hours, the crew reported passing over the Frankfurt VOR at flight level 6000 and received instructions to perform an ILS approach for runway 25R. Following contact with the tower, the flight was cleared to land under calm wind conditions.
At approximately 0413 hours, while on a heading of roughly 260 degrees, the aircraft struck a tree about 2,700 meters short of the runway threshold and 100 meters left of the centerline. After hitting several more trees, the plane crashed. The impact and subsequent fire resulted in two fatalities, as both crew members were killed. There were no survivors.
Findings
The investigation determined that the primary cause was that the crew failed to adjust their altimeters according to the established operations manual during the final approach. This error was made worse by a discrepancy between the final approach checklist and the standard altimeter setting procedures. Consequently, the aircraft descended below the required critical height while the instruments incorrectly indicated the plane was approximately 200 feet above that height.
- All radio navigational aids and runway lighting were functioning correctly.
- Weather conditions at the time of the accident were within prescribed minima.
- The crew had been notified via NOTAM that the VASIS was inoperative.
- The crew failed to set the altimeters to the QFE as required by operator instructions.
- No mechanical failures or system malfunctions were identified prior to the collision.