What happened
A Fokker F27 was performing a scheduled cargo flight from Luton to Guernsey, transporting newspapers. After climbing to an altitude of approximately 15,000 to 16,000 feet, the aircraft began its descent roughly 60 miles from its destination. While being vectored toward the final approach by Jersey Radar, the crew completed the approach checklist and set the flaps to 16 degrees.
As the aircraft approached within six miles of the runway threshold, the commander decided to transition from an instrument-based approach to a visual one, noting that the runway was visible. The flight crew notified Air Traffic Control of their intent to continue visually, and control was transferred to Guernsey Tower. During this phase, the commander requested flaps be extended to 26 degrees and initiated the landing checklist.
The pilot noted that the aircraft was slightly above the glide path as indicated by the precision approach path indicator lights. In an attempt to stabilize the descent, the commander instructed the first officer to select 40 degrees of flaps. Following a brief period of silence, the first officer realized an error had occurred during the configuration change. The commander attempted to correct the setting back to 26 degrees, and cockpit recordings captured engine acceleration and the sound of a warning horn. During the final approach, the aircraft entered a nose-high attitude and lost control. The plane subsequently stalled, striking a building on Forest Road with its left wing before crashing into a field located short of the runway. The accident resulted in 0 survivors.
Findings
The investigation determined that the primary cause of the accident was that the aircraft was operated outside of its permitted load and balance limits. This instability was exacerbated by errors in how the cargo was distributed, which went unnoticed because the personnel responsible for signing the load sheet failed to verify the actual cargo placement against the official documentation. Additionally, it was noted that the flight crew had not received adequate formal training regarding effective load management.