ASN Aircraft accident Dassault Falcon 7X VP-BZE Malta-Luqa Airport (MLA)
ASN logo
 

Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Wednesday 27 December 2017
Time:20:30 UTC
Type:Silhouette image of generic FA7X model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Dassault Falcon 7X
Operator:Flying Lion's Co., Ltd.
Registration: VP-BZE
MSN: 14
First flight:
Crew:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Total:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Aircraft fate: Repaired
Location:Malta-Luqa Airport (MLA) (   Malta)
Phase: Standing (STD)
Nature:-
Departure airport:-
Destination airport:-
Narrative:
A Dassault Falcon 7X, registration number VP-BZE, departed the stand 2 at Malta-Luqa Airport, rolled down the slope on the north-western edge of Park 4, went through the airport perimeter fence, crossed the road and crashed into the building across the road, where it came to a halt. At the time of the accident, there was no one on board and the aircraft was not being tended to.
It had been parked with a heading of 9.5°. At the time of the accident, the wind was blowing from the left rear quarter of the aircraft that tended to propel the aircraft forward and rotate it anticlockwise in the direction of the wind, due to the natural weather-cocking effect caused by the fin. This effect became sufficiently strong to castor the nose wheel and deflect it anticlockwise.
The aircraft rotated to the left on its outer tyre on the port undercarriage, with the two nose wheel tyres narrowly missing their chocks. The rotation continued up to a point where the angle between the tyre and chock became acute enough to dislodge the front chock of the left Main-Gear, a movement that left the aircraft completely free.

At the time of the accident it was dark with patches of rain; the surface wind on runway 05, which is close to Park 4, was reported to be ranging between 220°–230°, gusting to 35 kts.

Probable Cause:

The strong localised wind is what moved the aircraft from its parking position, but unintentional errors and oversights may have been contributory factors. Combined efforts by the crew and ground handlers, establishing better lines of communication and paying more attention to detail, may have prevented this accident from happening.

Accident investigation:

cover
Investigating agency: BAAI Malta
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 2 months
Accident number: 1/2018
Download report: Final report

Classification:

Damaged on the ground

Photos

Add your photo of this accident or aircraft

Video, social media

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.
languages: languages

Share

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org