The report into the 29 August 2001 fatal crash of a Binter Canarias EADS Casa CN235-200 twin turboprop says the crew made an error in operating the engine fire extinguisher for the serviceable engine, having shut down the port engine for which a fire warning had been triggered, writes Rainer Uphoff.
The aircraft was on final approach to Malaga, Spain, inbound from the Spanish enclave of Melilla on the north African coast, when the fire warning occurred. The powerless aircraft crashed about 700m (2,300ft) short of the runway.
The investigators noted that the fire alert for the port engine appears to have been a false alarm, probably caused by humidity or dirt on the sensors.
When the engine fire alarm sounded, the first officer had made an emergency call to Malaga tower and the crew went through the fire drill for the port engine. They shut down the engine, feathering the propeller and firing the extinguisher, but the fire alert remained live. While trying to operate the engine fire extinguisher system a second time, the captain - who was the pilot flying - inadvertently operated the starboard engine fire handle, and the engine flamed out, according to the report. There were three crew and 44 passengers on board. The captain and three passengers were killed, and two crew and 16 passengers were severely injured. The aircraft had hit a low but steep road embankment and was badly damaged before coming to rest.
The investigators judged that lack of crew co-ordination was a contributory factor. The report recommends clarifications in the operating manual, and that the same pilot should carry out all the engine fire drill checklist actions. Binter Canarias has since been taken over by Air Nostrum.
Source: Flight International
