Incident Overview

Description
Following an uneventful flight from Bodensee-Airport Friedrichshafen (EDNY), the crew of the Bombardier Global 6000 long-haul business aircraft, registered as 9H-AMZ, made an approach using the instrument landing system to runway 05 at Geneva Airport (LSGG), where there were light winds at the time. Approximately two minutes before 9H-AMZ landed, with the aircraft flying a stabilised final approach about 4 NM from the runway threshold, an Airbus A319 commenced its take-off run from the start of runway 05 and took off around 40 seconds later. The crew of 9H-AMZ flew over the displaced threshold of runway 05 with the correct approach profile and at the correct reference speed, and commenced the flare at a radio altitude of 10 ft. Moments later, the aircraft was caught by a positive wind shear of around 13 kt and rolled into a slight right bank, which the crew countered with an aileron deflection to the left. Immediately afterwards, the aircraft suddenly and severely rolled on its longitudinal axis to a left bank angle of 12.1ø. The crew immediately countered this with a vigorous aileron deflection to the right. Nevertheless, 9H-AMZ struck the runway with its left wingtip and subsequently touched down with the main landing gear whilst at an almost horizontal bank attitude. The process of slowing down and taxiing from the runway was uneventful. The occupants of 9H-AMZ were not injured. The aircraft was damaged on the left outer leading-edge slat. Causes The accident, in which a business aircraft touched the runway with one wingtip (wingtip strike), can be attributed to a high bank angle during the landing flare. The most probable cause for this high bank angle was found to be wake turbulence from a commercial aircraft that had previously taken off on the runway, which caused the business aircraft to roll around its longitudinal axis. The accident was caused by the combination of the following factors: – Light wind weather conditions, which delayed the decay of wingtip vortices; – A prolonged landing flare near the ground, which led to a touchdown at the end of the landing zone at low airspeed; – Insufficient distance between the displaced runway threshold and the point of rotation of an aircraft, which had previously taken off.
Primary Cause
Wake turbulence from a commercial aircraft that had previously taken off, causing the business aircraft to roll around its longitudinal axis.Wake turbulence from a commercial aircraft that had previously taken off, causing the business aircraft to roll around its longitudinal axis.Share on: