The flight crew of the Fairchild SA227-BC Metro III had descended below decision height in fog at Cork Airport in Ireland before initiating their third missed approach. They lost control, and the airplane rolled right and struck the ground inverted, killing both pilots and four of the 10 passengers.
In its final report on the Feb. 10, 2011, crash, the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) cited as the probable cause the “loss of control during an attempted go-around below decision height in instrument meteorological conditions [IMC].”
The report also cited contributory causes, including not only the pilots’ flight techniques but also their fatigue, the “inadequate command training and checking” during the commander’s upgrade, the inappropriate pairing of two relatively inexperienced pilots and the “inadequate oversight of the remote operation by the operator and the state of the operator.”
After reviewing the complex relationships among three organizations —…
