On April 23, 2024, an aircraft from London Gatwick (LGW) ran approximately 30 metres off the paved surface onto soft grass. The final report was released on July 2, 2026, which found that the captain misread the perspective of the runway.
The Initial Incident
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, Aurigny Flight GR609 overran the runway at Guernsey Airport (GCI), during a landing incident, triggering a full emergency and a two-hour closure of the airport.
The aircraft was a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 (registration 9H-LWB) operated under a wet lease agreement by Luxwing on behalf of Aurigny.
The captain kept the plane in a prolonged landing flare to achieve a smooth landing, causing it to touch down about two-thirds of the way down the relatively short runway. Judging that he still had enough runway left, the commander delayed full braking and failed to use reverse propeller pitch to help decelerate the aircraft.
The other pilots on board did not inform the commander to execute a “go-around” (abort the landing) due to their own lack of experience:
“Due to the lack of experience of the other pilots on board, they did not inform the commander of the need to go around.”
The Final Report
The Air Incidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) final report found that the captain misread the perspective of the runway due to its slope while trying to perform a “gentle touchdown”:
“The serious incident was caused by the commander trying to make a gentle landing and misreading the perspective of the runway due to the runway slope and not realising that the aircraft was going so long.”
The UK AAIB noted that the aircraft remained stationary on the grass with its engines running for more than six minutes. Furthermore, the crew shut down the plane without using normal or emergency checklists, which they struggled to find.
The AAIB added:
“Having touched down, the runway remaining was considerably shorter than planned but, judging he had sufficient runway ahead, the commander delayed applying full braking and did not make use of reverse propeller pitch to slow the aircraft.”
“This proved inadequate to stop the aircraft in the remaining distance, although the aircraft left the runway at relatively low speed.”
Safety Measurements
- Aurigny Operations: The airline now requires one of its own training captains to monitor external crews at the beginning of any new wet-lease contract.
- Civil Aviation Regulations: The Channel Islands director of civil aviation implemented enhanced, augmented reviews for foreign carrier permit applications involving wet leases.
- Manufacturer Recommendation: The AAIB formally recommended that De Havilland Canada update its quick reference handbooks to make emergency shutdown and evacuation checklists easier to locate.
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