the Danish Accident Investigation Board (DAIB) report...
Dash 8 Accident Report Cites Unstabilized Approach
In its report on a landing accident on January 1 this year involving a Bombardier Dash-8 at Ilulissat (BGJN) in Greenland, the Danish Accident Investigation Board (DAIB) focused on the crew’s failure to conduct a stabilized approach. While the Dash-8 was landing in a gusty nighttime crosswind that exceeded both the aircraft and the operator’s limitations, the left main gear collapsed and the aircraft skidded along the remainder of the runway and down a steep snow-covered slope to a point 35 feet below the runway elevation. One passenger and one crewmember among the 15 people on board received minor injuries, and the aircraft was destroyed. Investigators concluded that the crew failed to conduct a stabilized approach. The board said the crew reduced power to flight idle and then into the Beta range late in the approach, causing a hard landing that applied an excessive side load to the left main gear. Despite a nearly 90-degree crosswind gusting as high as 33 knots, the crew never attempted to execute a go-around. The investigation re-created the flight in an animation that showed the flightpath with a calculated Vref of 99 knots. At 1.5 miles from the end of the runway, the aircraft was still 30 knots above Vref and did not pass through the PAPI glideslope until half a mile out on final. The Board also cited the crew for their failure to use reverse thrust on the right engine, a decision that prolonged the landing roll and made directional control impossible.