Investigation Summary
The accident sequence began with a series of operational challenges during a night approach in convective weather. During the first approach to Runway 02, the aircraft was struck by lightning on the left wing, and the captain inadvertently left the speed brakes extended for 14 minutes, which increased fuel consumption and workload. After a missed approach due to a sudden tailwind shift, the crew faced a tightening fuel margin and elected to attempt an ILS approach to Runway 20. During this second attempt, a lightning strike on the airport's power infrastructure caused a total failure of the runway lighting at a critical height of 250 feet. The captain, experiencing a loss of visual cues and potentially affected by the 'black hole' effect or mental shock, applied significant nose-down elevator. The aircraft struck the runway at 3.11g in a nose-down attitude. This impact caused the nose landing gear to collapse upward, severing wiring looms in the electronics bay. The resulting short circuits caused the autothrottle to command an increase in thrust to 1.18 EPR on both engines, despite the crew's attempts to decelerate. The aircraft traveled through a perimeter fence and over an earth mound before breaking apart in a field.
Final Conclusions
The CIAIAC concluded the probable cause was the destabilization of the approach below decision height following the loss of external visual references and automatic height callouts. The failure of the runway lights at the most critical moment of the landing was a primary contributing factor. The investigation also highlighted the uncommanded forward thrust increase caused by system damage during the first impact, which prevented the aircraft from stopping on the runway. Other factors included the crew's insufficient evaluation of the storm's severity and the lack of specific simulator training for initiating a go-around below decision height.
Video Analysis
Britannia Airways 226A Accident: A Boeing 757, a Storm, and 11 Critical Seconds — A detailed breakdown of the 1999 crash at Girona, examining how a thunderstorm, a sudden power failure, and mechanical malfunctions led to the destruction of a Boeing 757.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Brendan Nolan, 57 years old
First Officer
33 years old
Systems & Failure Modes
Runway Lighting
The airport lighting system failed due to a storm-related power surge, depriving the pilots of visual orientation at the moment of flare.
Autothrottle / EEC
Damage to the electronics bay during the first impact caused the engines to increase thrust to 1.18 EPR, fighting the crew's braking efforts.
GPWS
Automatic height callouts were suppressed by a 'SINK RATE' audio caution, leaving the crew without altitude awareness in the darkness.
Interesting Facts
- 01The runway lights were dark for exactly 11 seconds due to a lightning strike on the power grid.
- 02The initial impact recorded a peak vertical acceleration of 3.11g.
- 03The aircraft was structurally severed at two points but no fire broke out.
- 04The sole fatality was a passenger who died five days later from unsuspected internal injuries.
- 05The captain had over 16,000 flight hours, while the first officer had approximately 1,500 hours.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Simulator Training
Recommendations were made to include simulator training for go-arounds initiated below decision height, even after touchdown.
Airport Infrastructure
Improvements to the reliability and backup speed of airport emergency lighting systems were recommended.