What happened
On 15 June 2006, a Boeing 737-300, registration OO-TND, operating a scheduled cargo flight from Liège to London Stansted, diverted to Nottingham East Midlands Airport due to deteriorating weather conditions. The flight required a CAT IIIA approach and landing due to low visibility.
During the final stages of the approach, at approximately 500 feet, Air Traffic Control transmitted a company-related message to the crew. While attempting to respond to and clarify this message, the commander inadvertently disconnected both autopilots. In an attempt to recover the approach, the commander re-engaged only one autopilot. This resulted in the aircraft deviating from the runway centerline and entering a high rate of descent. Although the commander initiated a go-around, the maneuver was performed too late. The aircraft struck the grass approximately 90 meters to the left of the runway centerline. The impact caused the right main landing gear to detach and resulted in damage to the flaps and hydraulic systems. The crew subsequently performed an emergency landing at Birmingham International Airport.
The investigation
The investigation examined the sequence of events leading to the loss of flight path control, focusing on the impact of the ATC communication and the crew's manual inputs. The investigators reviewed the flight crew's workload, the impact of the sudden autopilot disconnection, and the effectiveness of the co-pilot's response. The investigation also looked into the weather forecasting accuracy for the region and the suitability of the ATC message timing during a critical phase of flight.