1995 aviation accident
Knight Air Flight 816, an Embraer 110 Bandeirante belonging to Knight Air, was an internal (domestic) scheduled flight operating between Leeds Bradford and Aberdeen airports on 24 May 1995, which crashed with the loss of all on board shortly after take-off.
Accident.
The aircraft departed Leeds Bradford Airport at 16:47 hours UTC departure from runway 14, and was observed immediately to veer off the ATC instructed flight path; one minute and 50 seconds into the flight, the first officer reported problems with the artificial horizons in the plane and asked to return to Leeds Bradford.
Local weather was poor with restricted visibility, low cloud, and a recent thunderstorm – 'turbulent instrument meteorological conditions', according to the AAIB, dark and stormy conditions according to residents in the vicinity.
The crew, who consisted of Captain John Casson, First Officer Paul Denton, and Flight Attendant Helen Leadbetter, experienced significant difficulties maintaining their heading while returning to the airport. The aircraft subsequently entered a left turn, rapidly lost height and crashed at Dunkeswick Moor, north of Harewood, West Yorkshire, six miles north east of the airport. None of the crew or nine passengers survived the crash.
Cause.
An Air Accident Investigation Branch report found that one or both artificial horizons in the aircraft failed, leading to loss of control by the pilots and the plane entering a spiral dive exceeding operating parameters and leading to partial break-up before impact.
Background.
Aircraft.
The aircraft involved, manufactured in 1980, was an Embraer 110 Bandeirante registered as G-OEAA with serial number 11-256. In its 15 years of service, it had logged 15348 airframe hours. It was equipped with two Pratt &amp; Whitney Canada PT6A-34 turboprop engines.20
Crew.
In command was a 49-year-old male captain who had logged 3257 hours of flying time, 1026 of which were logged on the Embraer 110. His co-pilot was a 29-year-old male who had logged 302 hours of flying time, including 46 hours logged on the Embraer 110.
References.
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