Incident Overview

Date: Wednesday 27 December 2017
Aircraft Type: Dassault Falcon 7X
Owner/operator: Flying Lion’s Co., Ltd.
Registration Number: VP-BZE
Location: Malta-Luqa Airport (MLA) – ÿ Malta
Phase of Flight: Standing
Status: Substantial, repaired
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Component Affected: Aircraft (Dassault Falcon 7X)Aircraft (Dassault Falcon 7X)
Investigating Agency: BAAIBAAI
Category: Accident
A Dassault Falcon 7X, registration VP-BZE, crashed into a building due to a combination of factors, including wind conditions and human error. The aircraft rolled down a slope, entered the airport perimeter, crossed the road, and subsequently collided with a building. The aircraft was unoccupied and parked with a heading of 9.5ø. Strong wind, originating from the left rear, caused the aircraft to rotate anticlockwise, resulting in wheel tire deflection and a near-miss with chocks. The rotation continued until the tyre- chock detachment, leading to free movement.A Dassault Falcon 7X, registration VP-BZE, crashed into a building due to a combination of factors, including wind conditions and human error. The aircraft rolled down a slope, entered the airport perimeter, crossed the road, and subsequently collided with a building. The aircraft was unoccupied and parked with a heading of 9.5ø. Strong wind, originating from the left rear, caused the aircraft to rotate anticlockwise, resulting in wheel tire deflection and a near-miss with chocks. The rotation continued until the tyre- chock detachment, leading to free movement.

Description

A Dassault Falcon 7X, registration number VP-BZE, departed the stand 2 at Malta-Luqa Airport, rolled down the slope on the north-western edge of Park 4, went through the airport perimeter fence, crossed the road and crashed into the building across the road, where it came to a halt. At the time of the accident, there was no one on board and the aircraft was not being tended to. It had been parked with a heading of 9.5ø. At the time of the accident, the wind was blowing from the left rear quarter of the aircraft that tended to propel the aircraft forward and rotate it anticlockwise in the direction of the wind, due to the natural weather-cocking effect caused by the fin. This effect became sufficiently strong to castor the nose wheel and deflect it anticlockwise. The aircraft rotated to the left on its outer tyre on the port undercarriage, with the two nose wheel tyres narrowly missing their chocks. The rotation continued up to a point where the angle between the tyre and chock became acute enough to dislodge the front chock of the left Main-Gear, a movement that left the aircraft completely free. At the time of the accident it was dark with patches of rain; the surface wind on runway 05, which is close to Park 4, was reported to be ranging between 220ø–230ø, gusting to 35 kts. The strong localised wind is what moved the aircraft from its parking position, but unintentional errors and oversights may have been contributory factors. Combined efforts by the crew and ground handlers, establishing better lines of communication and paying more attention to detail, may have prevented this accident from happening.

Primary Cause

Strong localized wind conditions and potential human error in handling the aircraft.Strong localized wind conditions and potential human error in handling the aircraft.

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