A preliminary report has been released today by the authorities investigating the 10 October Atlantic Airways plane accident at Stord Airport in Norway. According to a press release issued by The Norwegian Accident Investigation Board today:
"Statements by witnesses, examination of the wreckage and transcripts from the flight recorder indicate that the plane’s spoilers did not fold out after landing. The function of the spoilers is to reduce the lift from the wings, something that is important in order to get the full effect of the brakes. The spoilers on a plane of this type (a BAe 146-200) are normally activated manually by the pilots. An indicator light on the instrument panel in the cockpit would normally indicate that the two independent systems are functioning. In this instance the indicator light did not come on. The remaining lift from the wings in combination with a slightly damp runway caused there to be steam under the main wheels, reducing the effect of the brakes. They could not at this point stop their approach. In a final attempt to get the plane to stop, the pilots swerved the plane to the left.”
Aker Kvaerner has been in contact today with the Civil Aviation Authorities in Denmark, who are responsible for the control and certification of the planes from Atlantic Airways. Based on the information they have today, they do not have any reason to restrict the use of this type of plane.
In light of this information, Aker Kvaerner will continue to use Haugesund Airport instead of Stord for Atlantic Airways charter flights until further notice. As an extra safety precaution, Aker Kvaerner has decided that all Atlantic Airway flights of the BAe 146-200 type will only fly to airports with runways that exceed the runway length normally required by this type of plane – until further notice. Stavanger, Haugesund, Molde and Alta airports all have runways which meet this criterion.
The Norwegian Accident Investigation Board will continue to investigate the accident -- and Aker Kvaerner continues to follow their progress closely.
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