What happened
A Fokker F-27 operated by BMA was conducting crew training maneuvers at East Midlands Airport when it crashed near the Castle Donington motor racing circuit. The flight crew consisted of a training captain in the right seat, a first officer acting as the handling pilot, and an additional captain in the jump seat. During the session, the crew performed several practice procedures, including simulated engine failures and various approaches to runways 09 and 27.
During one specific segment, the crew was performing a procedural NDB approach to runway 09. While descending through approximately 1300 feet, the handling pilot noted passing the beacon. As the aircraft approached the decision altitude of 740 feet, the training captain observed that the aircraft had descended below the required altitude while still in instrument meteorological conditions. The handling pilot expressed an intention to perform a go-around. During this phase, the cockpit voice recorder captured sounds of engine power increases. Shortly before impact, the aircraft experienced a significant yaw to the left followed by a steep right bank, ultimately striking the ground in a nose-down attitude with considerable sideslip.
Findings
The investigation determined that the Fokker F-27 became uncontrollable at an airspeed significantly higher than its stalling and minimum control speeds. This loss of control was due to degraded flying and handling characteristics caused by ice accumulation on the wing and tail leading edges, which had formed rime and glaze ice horns. While the training captain's decision not to use the airframe de-icing system was an underlying factor, the crew also allowed the airspeed to drop below normal approach speeds during the final stages of the flight.