What happened
On 6 August 2012, an Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300, registered CN-MBR, departed Geneva (LSGG) for a scheduled flight to St. Gallen-Altenrhein (LSZR). During the initial stages of the flight, the crew communicated with the St. Gallen tower and elected to perform a direct approach using the runway 10 instrument landing system (ILS). During the configuration of the aircraft, the landing gear and flaps were deployed; however, the flaps became stuck at roughly 10 degrees, triggering a FLAP FAIL warning.
Following this mechanical issue, the crew initiated a go-around. During this maneuver, the landing gear remained in the extended position, and the flaps stayed jammed. The crew proceeded with a second ILS approach, adhering to manufacturer guidelines that necessitated a higher approach speed due to the configuration. Despite efforts to manage the descent, the crew struggled to decelerate the aircraft to the required speed.
At 13:40 UTC, the aircraft landed on a wet runway at an indicated airspeed of 136 kt. The touchdown occurred approximately 290 meters past the runway threshold. Due to the high speed and runway conditions, the aircraft could not stop within the remaining pavement. The aircraft exited the runway, breached the perimeter fence, and crossed the Rheinholzweg road, narrowly missing a public transport bus. The aircraft eventually came to rest in a maize field about 30 meters from the runway end. There were no injuries among the two pilots or the single passenger, though the aircraft sustained heavy damage.
Findings
- The flaps were unable to extend fully, remaining stuck at approximately 10 degrees.
- The crew was unable to successfully reduce the aircraft's airspeed to the necessary level for the degraded flap configuration.
- The high touchdown speed on a wet runway prevented the aircraft from stopping before exiting the runway environment.