Loganair Flight 6780

Loganair Flight 6780 was a scheduled domestic flight from Aberdeen Airport to Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. On 15 December 2014, the Saab 2000 operating the flight was struck by lightning during the approach, and then plunged faster than the aircraft's maximum operating speed. The aircraft came within 1,100 feet (340 m) of the ground before the pilots recovered and returned to Aberdeen. All 33 passengers and crew were unharmed.

Recorded data showed that the autopilot remained engaged after the lightning strike, contrary to what the pilots had believed, and the nose-up pitch inputs to the flight controls made by the pilots were countered by the autopilot's pitch trim function, which made nose-down inputs to regain the selected altitude of 2,000 feet (610 m).

In response to the accident, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) issued five safety recommendations regarding changes to the autopilot system

Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a Saab 2000, registered G-LGNO, which made its maiden flight in March 1995. Equipped with two Rolls-Royce AE 2100A turboprop engines, it had a total of 26,672 flight hours and 25,357 flight cycles at the time of the accident. The Saab 2000 is a twin-engine turboprop that can carry up to 53 passengers, and was manufactured from its certification in 1994 until 1999. The aircraft has a maximum operating speed (VMO) of 270 knots (500 km/h) above 11,000 feet (3,400 m), and 250 knots (460 km/h) below 9,000 feet (2,700 m). The maximum speed reached during flight testing was 318 knots (589 km/h).

Loganair, a Scottish regional airline, had a franchise agreement with British airline Flybe until August 2017. Therefore, at the time of the accident the aircraft was operating under a Flybe livery.

Crew
The captain was a 42-year-old man who had been employed by Loganair since 2005. He had a total of 5,780 flight hours, including 4,640 hours on the Saab 340 and 143 hours on the Saab 2000. The captain originally flew the Saab 340, but had transitioned to the Saab 2000 in August 2014. When the captain flew the Saab 340, he received a training exercise in which a lightning strike caused a generator failure and the autopilot was disengaged.

The co-pilot was a 35-year-old woman who had been employed by Loganair since early 2014. She had a total of 1,054 flight hours, including 260 hours on the Saab 2000. She was qualified to fly Saab 2000 in May Of 2014.

Being Worked On…