Accident
On a positioning flight from Milan-Linate Airport to Genoa to pick up passengers for Amsterdam, the aircraft departed runway 36R. Shortly after takeoff, during initial climb, the aircraft collided with a flock of pigeons that struck both engines. The crew declared an emergency and reported technical problems without providing further details. Air traffic control cleared the aircraft for an immediate return, and the crew initiated a turn to the east. One minute and 25 seconds after takeoff, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed onto a factory located 750 metres southeast of the runway 36R threshold. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire. Both pilots were killed.
Findings
The official investigation determined that the event was triggered by a multiple bird impact during takeoff. The loss of control in flight was due to an aerodynamic stall during the return to the departure airport, which could not be recovered because of the reduced altitude available. Several contributing factors were identified: the non-implementation of the Flight Manual procedure for engine failure after V1, including configuration control, thrust lever management, definition and achievement of safety altitude, and maintenance of expected speeds; a lack of Crew Resource Management (CRM), which was already detectable in ground procedures but worsened during the emergency; the lack of experience of the first officer, who was on his first flight of line training on the aircraft type; and inadequacy of bird control measures and activity in the manoeuvring area.