D228, vicinity Bodø Norway, 2003

D228, vicinity Bodø Norway, 2003

Summary

On 4 December 2003, the crew of a Dornier 228 approaching Bodø lost control of their aircraft after a lightning strike which temporarily blinded both pilots and damaged the aircraft such that the elevator was uncontrollable. After regaining partial pitch control using pitch trim, a second attempt at a landing resulted in a semi-controlled crash which seriously injured both pilots and damaged the aircraft beyond repair. The Investigation concluded that the energy in the lightning had probably exceeded certification resilience requirements and that up to 30% of the bonding wiring in the tail may have been defective before lightning struck.

Description

On 4 December 2003, a Dornier 228-200 (LN-HTA) being operated by Kato Airline on a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Røst to Bodø in night Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) was struck by lightning which temporarily blinded both pilots and caused damage such that the elevator control was no longer possible. Control of the aircraft was temporarily lost and it almost stalled, but eventually some pitch control was regained using pitch trim. After an unsuccessful first landing attempt, the second ended in a crash landing which seriously injured both pilots and damaged the aircraft beyond repair. The two passengers sustained only minor injuries. By the time of the landing attempts, daylight clear of low cloud prevailed.

The wreckage in situ later on the day of the accident (reproduced from the Official Report)

Investigation

An Investigation was carried out by the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board. FDR and CVR data were successfully recovered, the latter covering 45 minutes which meant that data from both sources covered the period before and after the lightning strike. ATC radar and voice recordings were also available.

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