AirlinesTravel analysis on the Rome incident with the ATR 72-500 Carpatair aircraft

For 46 passengers and 4 crew members, the weekend that just ended was not pleasant and they will probably remember him for a long time. The aircraft ATR 72-500 Carpatair, which operated the flight Alitalia AZ1670 Pisa-Rome, left the runway at Fiumicino airport. Six people needed medical care, two had more serious injuries.

Following the information provided by the Carpatair operator, those offered by the Italian press, but also from the statements provided by witnesses and passengers, we outlined the moment of the incident. It is a scenario we have drawn from existing information.

The ATR 72-500 Carpatair aircraft, which operated the Pisa-Rome flight under Alitalia livery, flew smoothly to Rome and nothing announced the unpleasant moment to follow.

The wind has been pounding almost all day in the Italian capital. Fiumicino Airport was kept operational. It seems that at the airport there was windshear, a very dangerous phenomenon for aircraft. The wind can change its direction and intensity from one second to the next. Up to a certain wind speed, airplanes can land and take off without any problems. It seems that at the time of the incident, the wind had speed of 41 knots, above the limit allowed by 35 knots.

In this case, the pilots prepared the plane to land on runway 16L. Problems arose after the first touch (first touch of the track). Possibly at that moment, a strong gust of wind lifted the plane from the ground and then a second, more violent touch of the runway followed, which led to the damage to the landing gear and the departure of the aircraft from the runway. The following can be read in the article "An ATR 72 Carpatair aircraft departed from the runway at Fiumiciuno airport in Rome".

Now the investigation is ongoing and it is possible that we will have an official response in the next few days. Who's guilty? We do not want to accuse or speculate. We do not know the discussion between the tower and the pilots, but normally the aircraft did not have to land on such weather conditions. Or he had to force takeoff after the first touch. In most situations, the final decisions are made by the aircraft commander.

There were aircraft that refused to land on Fiumicino and flew to other airports, others landed without problems.