A passenger plane most likely came off the runway as it landed on a tiny island due to an unexpected gust of wind, a new report has found.
The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) has provided details of the “serious incident” involving a Loganair aircraft from Glasgow to Tiree on March 7.
The DHC-6 Series 310 Twin Otter plane was carrying two crew and seven passengers on board when it landed and veered sharply left off the runway, crossing a section of grass and finishing on the cross runway.
A weather forecast had indicated there would be strong southerly winds at Tiree and, two minutes before landing, two wind checks were taken from airport control which read 28.8mph and 26.5mph, within the plane’s crosswind limit.
Predicted gusts of 40.3 mph had been advised earlier in the flight – but gust updates were not provided by the airport on approach to the runway.
And meteorological information obtained from Tiree Airport showed there were regular gusts of up to 34.5mph at the time the plane made its approach.
The AAIB report stated: “During the rollout, as the aircraft decelerated, it appeared to weathercock (turn with the wind) as the flight controls lost their authority.”
The report, published yesterday, added: “Given the information they received, the crew believed the wind was within their limitations for landing.
“However, it is highly likely that the aircraft was affected by a strong gust of wind from the left during the landing roll. The event was sudden and briefly overcame the controls, which were reduced in effectiveness due to the low airspeed.
“As a result, the aircraft veered sharply left and departed the paved surface. There were no injuries and no damage to the aircraft or the airfield infrastructure.”
Engineers inspected the aircraft afterwards and found no damage.
The report states that the 55-year-old pilot previously had 10,680 hours of flying experience, of which 634 were on this type of plane.
A Loganair spokesman said: “We worked closely with the AAIB team and accept report’s findings. Our pilots are extensively trained to operate in adverse weather conditions and the report acknowledges they followed procedures.”