What happened
On the afternoon of the accident, a Fokker F2lar-500, registration G-ECAT, was performing the fourth leg of a scheduled rotation between Dublin and Sligo. The flight had experienced a brief delay because a previous service to Donegal had been cancelled due to high crosswinds, necessitating a rerouting of passengers via Sligo.
During the descent, the aircraft was transferred from Shannon Control to Sligo Tower. At 16:53, the crew was cleared for an approach to runway 11 after passing the SLG beacon. As the aircraft reached the Final Approach Fix at 17:00, the tower provided wind information indicating 15 knots from 120 degrees, with gusts up to 29 knots. A subsequent wind check at 17:01 noted gusts increasing to 31 knots.
At 17:02, the aircraft touched down near the middle of the runway. Observers noted that the aircraft failed to decelerate immediately upon contact with the surface. The aircraft continued down the runway, eventually exiting the paved surface at the right side of the threshold of runway 29. After passing through a prepared run-off area, the aircraft traveled an additional 50 meters before the main landing gear became embedded in a boulder-strewn embankment. The forward section of the fuselage and the cockpit cleared the embankment, leaving the aircraft tilted nose-down toward the sea. There were 0 fatalities and 0 injuries reported in the immediate sequence of the excursion.
Findings
- The aircraft failed to decelerate effectively following the initial touchdown on the runway.
- Strong wind gusts were present during the final approach and landing phase.