Submission declined on 12 June 2026 by Hurricane Wind and Fire (talk).
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Comment: The impacts alone are not enough to meet WP:LASTING. Instead, we need sources that are not WP:ROUTINE and provide WP:SUSTAINED coverage. 🌀Hurricane Wind and Fire, why did you decline my draft? (talk) (contribs)🔥 17:17, 12 June 2026 (UTC)
 The aircraft involved in the accident in 1993 while in service with SkyWest Airlines | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 12 April 2002 03:06 UTC |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error |
| Site | |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Fairchild SA227-AC Metro III |
| Operator | Tadair |
| ICAO flight No. | TDC306 |
| Call sign | TADAIR 306 |
| Registration | EC-GKR |
| Flight origin | Madrid–Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain |
| Destination | Palma de Mallorca Airport, Palma de Mallorca, Spain |
| Occupants | 2 |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 2 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Tadair Flight 306 was a regularly scheduled cargo flight from Madrid, Spain to Palma de Mallorca, Spain.[1] On April 12, 2002, the aircraft operating the flight impacted the ground while on approach to runway 24L at Palma de Mallorca Airport.[1] Both pilots, the only occupants onboard, were killed.[1] The investigation found that the crew did not stabilize their approach, deviating from standard company procedure and impacting terrain short of the runway.[1]
Aircraft and crew
editThe aircraft involved was a Fairchild SA227-AC Metro lll, registration EC-GKR (serial no. AC-620), manufactured in 1985.[1] It had accumulated a total of 29,726 flight hours.[1] The captain had a total of 3,897 flight hours, of which 2,162 were on the Metro lll.[1] The first officer had a total of 697 flight hours, of which 487 were on the Metro lll.[1]
Accident
editThe flight was a scheduled cargo flight carrying 1,340 kg of cargo from Madrid to Palma de Mallorca.[1] On approach to their destination, the crew decided to land on runway 24L using visual flight rules.[1] After receiving clearance for landing by the controller, the aircraft suddenly pitched down and impacted terrain short of the runway, exploding on impact, travelling another 100 meters before coming to rest.[1] Both pilots were killed in the crash.[1]
Investigation
editThe Comision de Investigacion de Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviacion Civil (CIAIC) of Spain was assigned to investigate the cause of the accident.[1] It was found that prior to receiving landing clearance by the tower, the plane had entered a left hand turn on a heading of 150 degrees.[1] The crew decided to shorten the turn to the runway and flew on a heading of 200 degrees, possibly in an attempt to land quickly to allow for other landing aircraft to also use the runway.[1] At this time, it descended from 800 feet to 450 feet.[1] It then made a tight turn over the approach lights to runway 24L and the threshold of the runway.[1] However, the crew overshot the runway in doing so, missing the centreline by about 150 meters.[1] The rate of descent during this time recorded by the FDR was 1,200 feet per minute.[1] The crew, realizing their mistake, tried to realign themselves with the runway by making another turn on a heading of 294 degrees.[1] This was far too steep a turn for the aircraft to execute and seconds later, the aircraft stalled with the right wing scraping the ground 300 metres from the runway threshold.[1] The actions performed by the crew deviated from the company's standard operating procedures.[1] The crew ended up performing a unstabilized approach.[1] Also, the darkness obscured visibility of the ground, preventing the pilots from getting a reference point to the horizon, which could have played a role in their botched turn to realign with the runway, with the crew not seeing the ground in time to avoid it.[1] The PAPI glide path system, although working at the time of the crash, provided limited visual references for the pilots to determine the position of their aircraft.[1] Low clouds near the ground could have possibly cause an optical illusion, causing the crew to become disoriented.[1] The lack of additional visual references in the form of lights on the ground was an additional factor in the crash.[1]
The final report issued by the CIAIC stated that the probable cause of the incident was the aircraft performing a very tight turn maneuver at night, at low altitude, and descending on a non standard approach, violating flight and company procedures.[1] The crew was unable to control the descending aircraft due to a possible stall, slippage during the turn, or both.[1]
References
editCategory:2002 in aviation Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2002 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving cargo aircraft Category:2002 in Spain Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner Category:Aviation accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain
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