Narrative:It was still dark outside when Air Littoral flight 440 received clearance to taxi to runway 35 for its early morning flight to Paris. The first officer was pilot flying on this leg. Six minutes later, at 06:31, the throttles were advanced and the Metro II started the takeoff roll. Shortly after lifting off the runway, the nose pitched down. The Metro II descended and contacted the ground again 600 m past the runway end and continued through bushes, eventually catching fire. It appears that the Stall Avoidance System (SAS) had activated, resulting in the stick pusher activation at a critical altitude. The Metro's SAS system, as well as the SAS system on this particular aircraft, had a history of problems. These problems resulted in several NTSB Safety Recommendations (A-84-66, A-88-154).
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The accident resulted from a reduction in the attitude of the airplane causing a downward trajectory in the moments that followed the takeoff. It is likely that this decrease in attitude is due to an untimely triggering of the stick pusher.
The absence of a recorder and the complete destruction of the SAS (apart from angle of attack vane and its transmitter) did not prove this hypothesis. With or without inadvertent triggering of the stick pusher, the imprecision of the right horizon and the absence of external visual references played an important role in this accident."
Classification:
Loss of control
Sources:
» Rapport final sur l'accident survenu le 18 november 1988 près de l'aerodrome de Montlucon-Guéret (23) au Swearingen Metro II immatriculé F-GCPG de la compagnie Air Littoral
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Montluçon-Guéret (Lepaud) Airport to Paris-Orly Airport as the crow flies is 276 km (173 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.