Incident Overview
Description
The Stratocruiser was high on the approach to Prestwick. The aircraft entered a steep descent, but flare out came too late. Following a heavy landing, the plane ran onto the runway, became airborne and crashed. The aircraft operated on a service from London to New York, with an en route stop at Glasgow. PROBABLE CAUSE: “Errors of judgement on the part of the captain in a) starting his final approach to land at too steep an angle and b) flaring out too late and too severely with the result that the aircraft sank and hit the ground short of the runway. During the flare out the aircraft passed through low cloud, thus reducing the captain’s visibility. The accident was also contributed to by the failure of the first officer to carry out the order of the captain to put on the landing lights which prevented the captain from observing timeously the low cloud over the approach lights.”
Primary Cause
Captain’s errors in final approach and flare-out, combined with low cloud visibility and the failure of the first officer to activate landing lights.Captain’s errors in final approach and flare-out, combined with low cloud visibility and the failure of the first officer to activate landing lights.Share on:
