2008 Farnborough Cessna Citation Crash - Investigation

Investigation

An Investigation was conducted by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB), assisted by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and by the aircraft and engine manufacturers, Cessna and Pratt & Whitney Canada respectively. The preliminary report from the AAIB revealed that there was no debris found on the runway at Biggin Hill, and no evidence of a bird strike or foreign object damage to either of the engines.

The AAIB published its formal report into the accident on 21 May 2010. It concluded that

• the "engine vibration" reported by the pilots most likely came not from the engines themselves, but from the faulty air cycle machine
• a missing rivet head on the left fuel cut-off lever could have resulted in the pilots shutting down that engine inadvertently
• both engines had been shut down, either intentionally or not, during the course of the short flight. The crew had subsequently tried to restart both engines, but had attempted to relight the second engine before the first one had reached sufficient speed, causing the relight of both engines to fail

An inquest into the death of the five victims opened on 31 May 2011 in Bromley, London. Then inquest concluded on 1 June with verdicts of accidental death being returned in all five cases.