Investigation Summary
The flight was originally scheduled to include a leg to Amsterdam, but poor weather there led the crew to cancel that portion and return to Bordeaux from Brussels. Upon arrival in the Bordeaux area, the crew encountered thick fog with a cloud base at approximately 100 feet and runway visual range (RVR) between 350 and 650 meters. The First Officer was the Pilot Flying (PF) while the Captain acted as Pilot Monitoring (PM). Due to the weather, the crew initially requested a holding pattern but decided to attempt the ILS approach to Runway 23 when conditions were reported to have slightly improved to a 160-foot ceiling. During the vectoring process, the aircraft overshot the ILS centerline. As the crew attempted to regain the localizer, the aircraft also descended below the glideslope. In the final moments, the Captain took control of the aircraft, but the sudden change in roles and the high workload of configuring the aircraft (deploying gear and flaps) while off-course led to a total loss of altitude awareness. The aircraft struck trees in the Eysines forest, approximately 5 kilometers northeast of the runway.
Final Conclusions
The BEA concluded that the accident resulted from the crew's failure to monitor the aircraft's vertical trajectory during a difficult approach. Specifically, the pilots lacked vigilance regarding altitude when descending out of the ILS beam at 2,000 feet and again when descending below the decision height of 220 feet. A critical contributing factor was the inadequate coordination of tasks (CRM), where the non-flying pilot failed to perform essential monitoring and reporting of ILS and altitude deviations, leaving the flying pilot without necessary cross-checks in a high-workload environment.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Pilot Monitoring (PM) initially, then took control during final approach.
First Officer
Pilot Flying (PF) during the initial approach phase.
Systems & Failure Modes
Instrument Landing System (ILS)
The ground-based radio navigation system providing lateral (localizer) and vertical (glideslope) guidance. The crew failed to maintain the glideslope and overshot the localizer centerline.
Crew Resource Management (CRM)
The effective use of all resources, including pilot coordination. The investigation cited a failure in PNF (Pilot Not Flying) duties, specifically the lack of altitude callouts.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was only one year old at the time of the accident.
- 02The aircraft's Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN) was 120033.
- 03Visibility at the time of the crash was extremely poor, with a cloud base of 160 feet and RVR as low as 350 meters.
- 04The Captain had only 101 hours of experience on the EMB-120 type.
- 05The aircraft was operating on behalf of Air France at the time of the accident.
- 06Philippe Deschamps, brother of French footballer Didier Deschamps, was among the fatalities.
Safety Actions & Advisories
CRM Training Reinforcement
The investigation highlighted the need for stricter adherence to Pilot Flying (PF) and Pilot Not Flying (PNF) duties as defined in the Operations Manual, particularly during non-stabilized approaches.