Accident Overview
On June 13, 2013, at approximately 1750 UTC (1:50 p.m. local), a SAAB 340B aircraft registered as C6-SBJ was involved in a runway excursion during landing at Marsh Harbor International Airport (MYAM), Marsh Harbor, Abaco, Bahamas. The aircraft was operated by SkyBahamas Airlines (Advance Aviation Limited) on a scheduled passenger flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida (KFLL) as SkyBahamas Flight 9561.
Flight History
The flight departed KFLL at 1706 UTC with 21 passengers and 3 crew members. The enroute phase was uneventful. While attempting to land on Runway 09 during heavy rain showers, the aircraft touched down and bounced several times before departing the runway surface to the right. The excursion occurred approximately 6,044 feet from the threshold of Runway 09 and about 60 feet from the end of the runway. The aircraft traveled through a runway water drain-off area and came to rest in a swampy area on a heading of 131 degrees.
Injuries and Damage
There were no reports of serious injuries as a result of the occurrence. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the right underside of the fuselage, right propeller, nose landing gear, and right wing. Minor damage was reported to at least one of the Runway 09 edge lights. The airport was briefly closed following the accident.
Weather
At the time of the accident, weather conditions were reported as instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) with heavy rain and thundershowers in the area of the airfield.
Investigation and Probable Cause
The Air Accident Investigation Department (AAID) of the Bahamas conducted the investigation, with assistance from airworthiness and operations inspectors, the Swedish Accident Investigation Authority, and SAAB Group. The probable cause was determined to be "the decision of the crew to initiate and continue an instrument approach into clearly identified thunderstorm activity over the landing field during landing, resulting in a loss of control of the airplane from which the flight crew was unable to recover and subsequent collision with obstacles and terrain resulted during the runway excursion." Contributing to the severity of the accident were poor decision-making and lack of situational awareness by the crew, as well as the thunderstorm, convective activity, and heavy rain over the field.
Safety Issues
The investigation identified deficiencies in pilot training related to recognizing thunderstorm hazards, recovering from unusual attitudes, and radar interpretation. Additional training was recommended in aeronautical decision making, adverse weather flying, crew resource management, aircraft systems, civil aviation regulations, and company standard operating procedures.