Newleaf Airways Flight 5210

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**Newleaf Airways Flight 5210** (**NA5210**/**NWL5210**) was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Newleaf Airways from Charnock Regional Airport to Exeter, United Kingdom. On 3 September 2015, the Embraer ERJ 145XR operating the flight crashed into buildings shortly after take-off, killing 112 people including 57 on the ground.

A preliminary accident report bulletin released by the Transport Accident Investigation Bureau ten days after the accident appeared to pin the cause on a catastrophic uncontained engine failure, with the debris also damaging flight control surfaces on the tail and causing a subsequent loss of hydraulic pressure.

## Aircraft

The aircraft involved in the accident was an Embraer ERJ 145XR on summer wet lease from ASL Airlines Ireland, formerly Air Contractors, registered EI-ROU. The aircraft had arrived at Newleaf Airways only days before the crash to replace sister aircraft EI-ROT, which had to be returned to ASL and replaced on the Newleaf contract due to mechanical issues.

The crash flight was EI-ROU's first flight for Newleaf Airways, although it had flown many flights before with ASL Airlines Ireland and other airlines that it had been wet leased out to. Being the advanced XR model of the ERJ 145, the aircraft was fitted with two Rolls-Royce AE 3007A1E engines mounted to the tail of the aircraft, along with a number of aerodynamic and performance upgrades.

## Accident

Flight 5210, bound for Exeter, departed the gate at Charnock with a ten minute delay at 16:10 local time. The delay caused the aircraft to miss its scheduled slot on the runway; it was delayed by another fifteen minutes on the taxiways before being cleared for takeoff at 16:27.

The aircraft's left engine suffered an total uncontained failure while at full thrust during the takeoff roll down the runway, before bursting down the flames. While the pilots were immediately aware of the incident, the aircraft had already passed V1 speed and was forced to take off to avoid a runway overrun.

Immediately after lifting off the ground, the aircraft began to bank to the left due to the difference in thrust between the failed left engine and full-thrust right engine. The pilots attempted to correct this roll by reducing thrust to the right engine, however, the aircraft became completely inverted around ten seconds after takeoff.

The aircraft's roll and subsequent high-speed inversion were unrecoverable due to their low altitude. As a result, around twenty seconds after takeoff, the plane slammed into the Route 68 Shopping Plaza half a mile beyond the runway while completely inverted, causing a huge explosion which destroyed the plane and both buildings.

## Fatalities and injuries

All 50 passengers and 5 crew on board the aircraft were killed in the accident. Among the dead were 30 Newleaf Island nationals and 15 British nationals, plus the five Irish crew members supplied by ASL Airlines Island as part of the aircraft lease agreement. Also killed on board the aircraft was a German family of three, including one child aged 8, and two Norwegians.

Additionally, 57 people on the ground were killed by the crash when the buildings they were in collapsed. All 57 were Newleaf Island nationals, bringing the total Newleaf Island casualties to 87.

In addition, 125 people were injured by the crash and subsequent explosion. The majority of the injured were inside sections of the two buildings struck by the plane that did not collapse. Further injuries, mainly blast-related, occurred at the far end of the car park and along the road outside the store.

Six planespotters were injured when the plane flew inverted over the dirt bank they were stood on opposite the store, with the tail of the aircraft passing only six feet above their heads. Video footage taken by one planespotter, a man from New Zealand who was critically injured in the subsequent explosion, was later used as vital evidence in the investigation. The Transport Accident Investigation Bureau also accepted photos taken by the other planespotters which appear to show the aircraft immediately after take-off with smoke trailing from one engine.

## Aftermath

Police, paramedics and the fire brigade were soon called to the scene to reports of an aviation accident and the first emergency services began to arrive at 16:30 to a scene of devastation. Twenty appliances from six different fire stations battled the blaze caused by the crash, extinguishing it after two hours.

After the fire was extinguished, rescue workers began to comb the wreckage of the aircraft for survivors while attempts were made to stabilise both buildings which had been struck by the plane and almost completely collapsed. One was confirmed to be a 24/7 mini-supermarket while the other was a Suburban clothes store, both of which were extremely busy with shoppers at the time of the crash.

Overnight it was reported that there were likely to be no survivors on the aircraft following the crash, with police also warning that there would likely be a high number of ground casualties.

On 4 September, rescuers freed 20 people alive and relatively unhurt from a storage room around the least damaged side of the Suburban store, raising hopes that more people would be recovered alive from the wreckage; however, no more survivors were found.

Police confirmed on 5 September that there were no survivors of the crash from on board the aircraft, and that at least 15 bodies had been recovered from the wreckage of the 24/7 supermarket pending formal identification. Heavy rain complicated the rescue effort, as standing water caused further sections of the weakened buildings to collapse.

At least 10 bodies were discovered underneath the main fuselage section of the aircraft after it was lifted onto a low loader on 6 September, followed later in the day by the discovery of around 15 bodies inside a collapsed section of the Suburban store. Police confirmed that 50 people had been reported missing from the area since the crash; this was later revised up to 56 and finally 57 on 7 September.

The majority of the remaining bodies were located within the 24/7 supermarket on 11 September after a large section of collapsed roofing was lifted away by crane. Previously, this section of building had been one of the few remaining inaccessible locations to rescuers.

The rescue effort was finally brought to a close on 13 September after the final missing body was recovered from the Suburban store, allowing bulldozers to move in to demolish the buildings. Proposals have already been put forward to redevelop the site as a memorial park.

## Investigation and cause

The Transport Accident Investigation Bureau (TAIB) of Newleaf Island confirmed that they had launched a full investigation into the crash on 4 September. Newleaf Airways confirmed that they would help with the investigation as much as possible, but that they would not be able to provide some key information due to the aircraft's wet lease from ASL Airlines Ireland. ASL later confirmed their participation in the investigation alongside the Irish air accident investigation service.

A preliminary bulletin was released on 13 September after analysis of the aircraft's black boxes and footage of the accident taken by various nearby CCTV cameras and