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Events from Jun 19th 1999 to Sep 22nd 2020 www.avherald.com Incidents and News in Aviation List by: Filter: Accident: Luxair DH8D at Saarbruecken on Sep 30th 2015, takeoff ending on belly, smoke in cabin

By Simon Hradecky, created Wednesday, Nov 30th 2016 19:00Z, last updated Sunday, Aug 27th 2017 18:54Z On Nov 30th 2016 the BFU released their final report concluding the probable causes of the accident were:



The air accident was the result of an early retraction of the retractable landing gear during take-off, which was not prevented by the landing gear selector lever and the retracting control logic.



Contributory factors:



- Reduced concentration level



- A break in the callout process / task sequence on the part of the PNF



- Actuation of the landing gear lever to the UP Position too early



- Control logic design allows retraction of the landing gear with one wheel airborne



The BFU analysed that it had been a rather relaxed day for the crew, the crew was looking forward to an early conclusion of the working day with their last leg to Luxembourg.



The BFU wrote in their analysis:



During taxi they received take-off clearance. After a short stop in position at runway 09 acceleration for take-off was begun. The analysis of the recorders and the crew interviews showed that during take-off run, after reaching rotation speed, the landing gear lever was put into position UP and the landing gear retracted during rotation with lifted nose.



Without the support of the main landing gear the tail of the aircraft hit the runway. The recorded data of the FDR and the ground contact of the tail strike warner at about 5° nose up show that the main landing gear folded back and retracted before the airplane had reached the rotation pitch of approximately 8° nose up. Due to the tail strike the tail bounced off the ground. This reduced the pitch instantly even though the pulled control input of the PF still remained. Therefore the pitch was not sufficient to produce enough lift for the airplane to become airborne even though rotation speed had been reached and engine thrust remained unchanged.



Once the PF had realised the occurrence he reduced engine thrust and tried to keep the airplane on the runway and stop it.



The cabin crew stated that during the slide on the runway smoke and acrid metallic smell had developed which caused them to open the doors and evacuate the aircraft immediately after it had come to a standstill.



The BFU wrote with respect to human factors:



The early, not requested, grasp of the landing gear selector lever during the take-off callout procedure came suddenly and unexpectedly for the PF. After the event, the co-pilot could not explain her actions.



Publications on human performance and error management (see page 16 ff) describe such actions as Slip. It is a spurious action which occurs unintentional und unplanned in a correct, known, often trained and repeated course of action. Especially processes which are repeated quite often and therefore generate reduced concentration are susceptible for these kinds of errors.



With respect to the aircraft the BFU analysed:



The investigation also determined that the landing gear retracts in accordance with the control design logic if the cockpit commands it (lever in position UP) and at least one landing gear (nose wheel or main landing gear) is airborne according to the weight on wheels sensors. During rotation with lifted nose this is the case.



The BFU reported that Transport Canada released an Airworthiness Directive as result of the occurrence requiring that the gear does get only retracted when all weight on wheel sensors register no weight on the wheels. The aircraft manufacturer changed the PSEU accordingly.



Due to the safety actions already taken the BFU did not release any safety recommendation as result of the investigation.



On Aug 27th 2017 a reader made The Aviation Herald aware that Google Earth and Google Maps are currently using satellite images of Saarbruecken Airport, that were taken exactly on Sep 30th 2015 after the accident.



Map, Satellite Image of Sep 30th 2015 (Graphics: Google Earth):









By Simon Hradecky, created Wednesday, Sep 30th 2015 18:47Z, last updated Friday, Feb 19th 2016 16:35Z



Germany's BFU have opened an investigation into the accident.



Saarbruecken Airport and Saarbruecken Police reported the aircraft was climbing out, gear was already retracted, when smoke developed in the aft cabin. The crew put the aircraft back onto the runway for a gear up landing.



The airline confirmed an incident at Saarbruecken during an aborted departure. The pilot, 45, had accumulated more than 10,000 hours of flying experience and was assisted by a 27 year old first officer.



On Nov 17th 2015 the airline reported in a press conference, that the first officer had retracted the landing gear too early, about three seconds prior to rotation and before the captain aborted takeoff causing the aircraft to settle on its belly without landing gear which resulted in heat and smoke in the cabin. The captain as well as cabin crew acted well in the course of the occurrence, the first officer however was suspended.



On Feb 16th 2016 Germany's BFU released their interim report within their



10:16:24 PF take off, my controls

10:16:25 PNF your controls

10:16:27 PNF spoiler is closed

10:16:30 PNF autofeather armed

10:16:33 PF looks like spring

10:16:35 PNF yeah, power is checked

10:16:36 PNF 80 knots

10:16:37 PF checked

10:16:40 PNF V1, rotate

10:16:42 Background click sound, probably gear lever UP

10:16:43 PNF upps, sorry



The BFU stated that the aircraft had reached 5 degrees nose up at 127 KIAS when the gear retracted, the tail of the aircraft contacted the runway surface at 10:16:44 for the first time, the tailstrike warning activated. After three contacts the aircraft skidded to a stop 875 meters past the first runway contact, the aircraft came to rest abeam the PAPI lights runway 27.



Due to the resulting smoke and smell in the cabin cabin crew initiated an immediate evacuation of the aircraft, that received substantial damage. There were no injuries.



The BFU stated that to operate the gear lever the red button below the gear lever must be pushed down simultaneously (see photo below). According to gear design logic the gear is going to retract as soon as the nose gear weight on wheel sensor indicates airborne, even if the main gear is still on the ground.



The BFU reported that examination of the aircraft revealed the main gear had completely retracted and the main gear doors were closed, the nose gear had completely retracted, the gear doors remained open and were damaged. The gear lever was in the position UP, the propeller blades of the left hand prop were shortened by about 40cm and the blades of the right hand prop by about 1cm. The belly of the aircraft was completely abraded from about 2 meters aft of the nose gear bay to about the aft cargo compartment door.



The aircraft was jacked up and the gear tested, multiple tests revealed no anomaly of the operation of landing gear, associated displays or controls.



The BFU reviewed 30 randomly selected flights as well as the last 29 flights of the first officer with respect to operation of the landing gear lever, in none of the flights there was evidence of too early a gear retraction.



On Feb 19th 2016 the BFU released their



Aftermath of accident, German language (Video: blaulichtreport-saarland.de):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADMP38pYjig



The belly damage (Photo: BFU):





The landing gear lever and red push lock lever (Photo: BFU):





Aerial overview of the accident site including distances (Photo/Graphics: BFU):







A Luxair de Havilland Dash 8-400, registration LX-LGH performing flight LG-9562 from Saarbruecken (Germany) to Luxembourg (Luxembourg) with 16 passengers and 4 crew, was in the initial climb out of Saarbruecken's runway 09, landing gear was already retracted, when smoke developed in the aft cabin prompting the crew to put the aircraft back down onto the runway (length 2000 meters/6560 feet) for a belly landing. The aircraft came to a stop about 400 meters/1300 feet short of the runway end. All occupants evacuated safely, no injuries occurred. The damage to the aircraft is being assessed.Germany's BFU have opened an investigation into the accident.Saarbruecken Airport and Saarbruecken Police reported the aircraft was climbing out, gear was already retracted, when smoke developed in the aft cabin. The crew put the aircraft back onto the runway for a gear up landing.The airline confirmed an incident at Saarbruecken during an aborted departure. The pilot, 45, had accumulated more than 10,000 hours of flying experience and was assisted by a 27 year old first officer.On Nov 17th 2015 the airline reported in a press conference, that the first officer had retracted the landing gear too early, about three seconds prior to rotation and before the captain aborted takeoff causing the aircraft to settle on its belly without landing gear which resulted in heat and smoke in the cabin. The captain as well as cabin crew acted well in the course of the occurrence, the first officer however was suspended.On Feb 16th 2016 Germany's BFU released their interim report within their September Bulletin in German reporting the captain (45, ATPL, 11,927 hours total, 3,649 hours on type) was pilot flying, the first officer (27, CPL, 3,295 hours total, 1,483 hours on type) was pilot monitoring. The crew prepared for a departure from runway 09 with reduced engine power at 81%. The BFU released following transcript:The BFU stated that the aircraft had reached 5 degrees nose up at 127 KIAS when the gear retracted, the tail of the aircraft contacted the runway surface at 10:16:44 for the first time, the tailstrike warning activated. After three contacts the aircraft skidded to a stop 875 meters past the first runway contact, the aircraft came to rest abeam the PAPI lights runway 27.Due to the resulting smoke and smell in the cabin cabin crew initiated an immediate evacuation of the aircraft, that received substantial damage. There were no injuries.The BFU stated that to operate the gear lever the red button below the gear lever must be pushed down simultaneously (see photo below). According to gear design logic the gear is going to retract as soon as the nose gear weight on wheel sensor indicates airborne, even if the main gear is still on the ground.The BFU reported that examination of the aircraft revealed the main gear had completely retracted and the main gear doors were closed, the nose gear had completely retracted, the gear doors remained open and were damaged. The gear lever was in the position UP, the propeller blades of the left hand prop were shortened by about 40cm and the blades of the right hand prop by about 1cm. The belly of the aircraft was completely abraded from about 2 meters aft of the nose gear bay to about the aft cargo compartment door.The aircraft was jacked up and the gear tested, multiple tests revealed no anomaly of the operation of landing gear, associated displays or controls.The BFU reviewed 30 randomly selected flights as well as the last 29 flights of the first officer with respect to operation of the landing gear lever, in none of the flights there was evidence of too early a gear retraction.On Feb 19th 2016 the BFU released their English version of the interim report Aftermath of accident, German language (Video: blaulichtreport-saarland.de):The belly damage (Photo: BFU):The landing gear lever and red push lock lever (Photo: BFU):Aerial overview of the accident site including distances (Photo/Graphics: BFU):

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