Landing Accident of EC-JCV at Madrid-Barajas Airport

Incident Overview and Flight Details On November 19, 2007, at 21:54 local time, a Fairchild SA226-AT with registration EC-JCV was involved in an accident at Madrid-Barajas Airport, runway 33L. The aircraft was operated by Pirinair Express, S.L. under a wet lease contract for Swiftair. The flight was a non-scheduled domestic cargo operation that originated in Zaragoza, with an intermediate stop in Vitoria. The flight was conducted under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) due to Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). The aircraft experienced icing between flight levels 70 and 180. During the approach to Madrid-Barajas, the weather improved to Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) below 7,000 feet. ## Landing Sequence and Impact The aircraft contacted the Madrid-Barajas Control Tower at 19:55 and received clearance to land on runway 33L shortly before 20:00. The pilot in command was the co-pilot. Air Traffic Control (ATC) requested the crew to maintain a high speed and exit the runway at the first left exit due to a faster aircraft in the approach sequence. The aircraft was flying at 180 knots, significantly higher than the reference landing speed of 114 knots for its weight of 11,500 lb. The maximum gear extension speed was 176 knots. After crossing the runway threshold, the main landing gear made contact with the runway. As the nose gear lowered, it impacted the runway surface and dragged for 200 to 300 meters. The propeller blades of both engines struck the runway, resulting in material wear and deformation. The engines subsequently lost revolutions, and the electrical generators failed. ## Emergency Response and Damage The crew steered the aircraft to the left side of the runway and performed an emergency engine shutdown. The aircraft came to a stop at the intersection of runway 33L and the former runway 36. The co-pilot exited the aircraft via the left side door and alerted the commander to a fuel leak in the left engine. The commander shut off the batteries and also evacuated the aircraft. No fire occurred, and emergency services applied an extinguishing agent as a precaution. Two subsequent aircraft in the approach sequence aborted their landings, and runway 33L was closed. The aircraft sustained damage to the nose gear doors, the nose section of the fuselage, and the propellers of both engines. Both crew members were uninjured. The aircraft was manufactured in 1975 with serial number AT-038. The last annual maintenance inspection was performed on July 16, 2007, which included a check of the nose gear well and landing gear operation in both normal and emergency modes.