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AAIB releases report into Ronaldsway incident

Mon, 12 Mar 2018

The Air Accident Investigation Branch believes a crew that landed an aircraft in strong winds at Ronaldsway last year had not been effectively trained to evaluate threats.

The Citywing flight left Ronaldsway for Belfast City Airport last February, but had to return to the Island after an aborted landing in Northern Ireland due to the weather conditions.

The report into the incident states the winds at Ronaldsway were twice as strong as the Let L-410 aircraft is designed to land in, which resulted in one of the wings coming within a metre of striking the runway.

The Isle of Man Civil Aviation Authority had to instruct the crew to shut the plane down on the runway rather than taxiing to the terminal for fear that the winds could damage the plane on the ground, with the aircraft having to be tied down on the runway until the winds subsided.

The flight was operated by Czech airline Van Air on behalf of Citywing, and the AAIB has urged Czech authorities to review the company's operational processes, training and operator's guidance.

The three passengers on board the flight were not injured as a result of the incident.

Citywing Aviation Services Limited entered liquidation less than a month after the incident.

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