AAIU Reports

Following an approach to land on Runway 28 Left (L) at Dublin Airport (EIDW), the A321 neo Aircraft briefly touched down on its left main landing gear and began to deviate from the runway centreline. The Aircraft then lifted slightly, before touching down again on the left main landing gear, followed less than a second later by the right main landing gear touching down. The Aircraft’s pitch angle increased and the Aircraft continued to deviate to the left of the runway centreline. The Commander, who was the Pilot Monitoring, called for a go-around, which was initiated by the First Officer, who was the Pilot Flying. A tail strike, which was heard by both the Flight Crew and the Cabin Crew, occurred when the Aircraft’s pitch angle was increased beyond the tail strike limit during the go-around manoeuvre. When the Aircraft became airborne again, ATC provided radar vectors for a return to EIDW and a second approach to Runway 28L was performed, followed by a normal landing.

The tail strike resulted in substantial damage to the lower surface of the tail section of the aircraft and its supporting structure. There was no fire, and no injuries were reported to the Investigation. The Investigation determined that the probable cause of the tail strike was over-rotation during a go-around manoeuvre that was initiated after main landing gear touchdown. Several contributory factors were identified.

Following a number of touch and go landings at Newcastle Aerodrome, the Pilot of the TOMARK Viper SD-4 RTC Aircraft conducted an approach with the intention of completing a full-stop landing. During this landing, the Aircraft bounced, which resulted in the nose landing gear fork, complete with nose wheel, separating from the Aircraft. The Aircraft came to a stop on the grass strip and the Pilot, who was the sole occupant, exited the Aircraft unaided. There was no fire, and no injuries were reported to the Investigation.

Whilst descending to delivery height, during a routine flight to a customer’s address in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin, the Unmanned Aircraft (UA) impacted a nearby building. This impact caused the UA’s control system to initiate its flight termination protocol which included deployment of the onboard ballistic parachute. The UA descended, impacted the ground in a clear area adjacent to the building, and was substantially damaged. No injuries were reported to the Investigation.

Following a flight from its base in Scotland, the Helicopter, an AS 355 F2, with one Pilot on board, conducted an approach to Runway 26 at Ireland West Airport (EIKN). As the Helicopter manoeuvred at a low height towards Taxiway A, the Pilot felt a momentary ‘kick of yaw’ but retained full control of the Helicopter and subsequently landed at the allocated stand. After engine shutdown, the Pilot observed that a section of the tail rotor driveshaft fairing was missing and was later found on the runway. The fairing caused damage to the tail rotor driveshaft and tail rotor blades as it departed the Helicopter. No injuries were reported to the Investigation and there was no fire.

Shortly after take-off from ILAS Field at Taghmon, Co. Wexford, Ireland, the engine of the Bensen B8M Gyrocopter lost power. This necessitated a forced landing in a nearby agricultural field from a low height, during which the Gyrocopter contacted the ground hard and bounced before coming to rest. The Gyrocopter sustained substantial damage in the impact sequence. The Pilot, who was the sole occupant, was uninjured. There was no fire

Please see the below Preliminary Report.

NOTE: This Preliminary Report contains information as known at this time and does not contain analysis or conclusions. This information is therefore subject to change and may subsequently be found to contain errors: any errors in this Report will be corrected in the Final Report.

The Pilot hiked up a hill near the Conor Pass car park in Co. Kerry with the intention of conducting a paraglider flight in a northerly direction to land in the valley below. The Pilot commenced his take-off run but as he approached the precipice of a steep cliff, the Paraglider’s canopy moved slightly ahead of him. As he jumped from the cliff edge, the canopy suffered a partial collapse and control of the Paraglider was lost. The Pilot collided with rocky terrain and was seriously injured. The Pilot was rescued from the cliff face by the Dingle Coast Guard Unit, and was subsequently transferred by ambulance to a local hospital

Following a flight from Loughrea in Co. Galway and while flying along Taxiway Delta 1 enroute to the Light Aircraft Parking area at Shannon Airport (EINN), control of the Eurocopter EC 155 B helicopter was lost when an attempt was made to flare the helicopter and transition from forward flight to a hover. The helicopter impacted the taxiway surface with significant downward force and forward momentum. It sustained substantial damage but remained upright and continued along the taxiway before coming to a stop at the airport’s east apron. There was no fire, and no injuries were reported.

The Investigation determined that the probable cause of the occurrence was loss of control in flight during transition from forward flight to hover due to the collective pitch lever movement being restricted by a portable power bank device which was unsecured in the cockpit. Three Safety Recommendations are made as a result of this Investigation.

The Airbus A320-214 aircraft, with two pilots on board, was on a positioning flight to Dublin Airport (EIDW), Ireland, from Madrid-Barajas Airport (LEMD), Spain. There were no passengers or cabin crew on board. After take-off, the Commander detected what he described as a ‘slight chemical-type’ odour. The Commander stated that the odour eventually dissipated in the flight deck but was detectable in the aft galley. The Commander reported that during the subsequent descent into EIDW, when passing approximately 6,500 ft, a ‘very strong chemical odour’ was detected in the flight deck, and that due to its severity, he immediately ordered the donning of the flight crew oxygen masks. The Flight Crew donned their oxygen masks and subsequently removed them at approximately 600 ft to aid visibility and communication. The odour was reported to have diminished at that stage but that it was still noticeable. The aircraft landed normally on Runway (RWY) 28L at EIDW and taxied to its parking stand. The Flight Crew immediately attended a hospital, where physical examination, blood tests, X-rays, and ECGs were conducted. No abnormalities were detected and both crew members were discharged a number of hours later.

The Investigation determined that the probable cause of the fumes was contamination of the aircraft’s air conditioning system due to oil from an external oil leak at the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) being ingested by the APU’s load compressor.

On 30 August 2023, the Airbus A321 neo aircraft departed Dublin Airport (EIDW), Ireland, at approximately 11:55 hrs on a scheduled transatlantic service to Washington Dulles Airport (KIAD) in the United States. During the final approach to land, in gusty conditions, the aircraft became slightly high on the glideslope. In response to this deviation, the First Officer (FO), who was the Pilot Flying, made a nose-down control input which, along with a loss of headwind, resulted in an increased rate of descent near to the ground. During the subsequent landing manoeuvre, a rapid aft control side stick input was made and the aircraft bounced to a low height. During this bounce, the Pilot Flying made an aft side stick input, which caused the aircraft to pitch up beyond its tailstrike limit. Simultaneously with the second touchdown, the Commander took control of the aircraft and a go-around was initiated. Following radar vectors, the aircraft landed again on Runway 01R. A post-flight engineering inspection revealed that a tailstrike had occurred which caused damage to the aircraft. Minor injuries were reported by two cabin crew members located in the rear of the aircraft.