What happened
On the scheduled flight from Sydney to Orange, Bathurst, and back to Sydney, an East-West Airlines Fokker F-27, registered VH-EWL, was performing a landing approach at Bathurst. While initially planning to land on runway 17, the captain opted for runway 35 due to the presence of light rain near the other runway threshold. The flight, operated by a crew including a First Officer at the controls, entered the traffic circuit under visual conditions with clear visibility.
As the aircraft transitioned to the final approach leg, it encountered turbulence and increasing rainfall. While flying approximately 300 feet above the ground, the aircraft experienced several significant turbulence bumps and began drifting left of the runway centerline. Due to this deviation, the captain ordered a go-around when the aircraft was roughly 200 to 250 feet above the terrain.
During the climb-out phase, the First Officer applied maximum power and retracted the landing gear while the captain adjusted the flaps. Despite the engines responding normally, the airspeed dropped rapidly to approximately 73 knots at an altitude of 80 to 100 feet. The aircraft's rear fuselage struck the ground 1240 metres north of the runway threshold. The impact caused the aircraft to slide for 625 metres, during which time the starboard engine was detached from the wing. There were 0 fatalities and all occupants evacuated successfully.
Findings
Investigation into the accident determined that the aircraft's performance during the climb was compromised by an unexpected encounter with a significant change in horizontal wind components and a concurrent downdraft. This atmospheric disturbance occurred at an altitude too low for the crew to recover the aircraft's flight path.