Stobart AT72 at Cork on May 26th 2017, passenger fell off aircraft stairs

Last Update: December 28, 2017 / 19:47:31 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 26, 2017

Classification
Accident

Airline
Stobart Air

Flight number
EI-3727

Departure
Manchester, United Kingdom

Destination
Cork, Ireland

Aircraft Registration
EI-FAT

Aircraft Type
ATR ATR-72-200

ICAO Type Designator
AT72

Airport
Cork Airport, Cork

Airport ICAO Code
EICK

A Stobart Air Avions de Transport Regional ATR-72-212A on behalf of Aer Lingus, registration EI-FAT performing flight EI-3727 from Manchester,EN (UK) to Cork (Ireland), had concluded an uneventful flight with a safe landing in Cork at 18:50L (17:50Z) and was parked at the stand, when a female passenger disembarked but fell off the stairs and received injuries.

On Jun 8th 2017 Ireland's AAIU reported the passenger received serious injuries, the occurrence was rated an accident and is being investigated by the AAIU.

The airlines so far did not respond to inquiries by The Aviation Herald transmitted on Monday May 30th 2017 (following extensive efforts via local sources to verify the occurrence).

Another passenger told The Aviation Herald on Friday May 26th 2017 that the lady was on the second stair and fell down the entire length of the stairs. An ambulance took her away to a hospital. The other passengers were kept on board for another 70 minutes until the injured passenger was taken away. It was wet and misty in Cork at the time of arrival and disembarkment.

On Dec 28th 2017 the Irish AAIU released their factual report stating: "The Investigation found that the stairs (Photo No. 1) were serviceable; the handrails were functioning correctly and the non-slip covering was in good condition. The Inspectors also noted that there were hazard markings on the edge of each stair and on the handrails."

The passenger reported she fell from the top of the stairs, she tried unsuccessfully to grab the handrail. She did not recall that she tripped or stumble, she was holding two pieces of hand luggage and wearing deck type shoes. She received a broken shoulder, a badly bruised knee and a head injury causing ongoing headache and dizziness. She recalled the time between falling and arriving at the hospital was about 90 minutes, the weather was cold and wet.

An airport police officer reported he saw her losing balance and fall down the stairs. He called an ambulance and alerted collegues.

Two ground handlers observed the fall too and reported that she was one of the first passengers to disembark, the steps were not yet wet at that time. The AAIU wrote: "The witness stated that the passenger ‘stumbled and fell from the third or fourth step’" and "The second witness recalled seeing the passenger ‘trip and tumble down the steps’." The ground handlers reported the ambulance arrived just under an hour after the passener fell down the stairs.

The AAIU analysed:

Aviation Safety Management Systems (SMS) will capture details of stair falls and these will usually be reported by flight crew or ground staff at an airport. However, slips and trips which do not cause serious injury might not be reported by passengers and therefore might not be captured in an SMS. A consequence of such non-reporting is that the aviation industry as a whole cannot assess the full extent of the risk posed to passengers by aircraft stairs.

With respect to the long response time by the ambulance the AAIU analysed:

The Investigation noted the length of time taken for the ambulance to arrive at EICK. Notwithstanding the fact that the APFS were on the scene immediately and were monitoring the Passenger, the Investigation considers that an hour is a significant time for a person with potentially serious injuries to be lying on the ground at an international airport. The Irish Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) sets out recommended response times for the National Ambulance Service. In cases where there are, ‘Patients with serious but not lifethreatening conditions which require an immediate response,’ the target is to have a patientcarrying vehicle at the scene within eighteen minutes fifty nine seconds. However, management at Cork Airport informed the Investigation that the ambulance response time for this particular accident was not in line with their experience, and that the normal response time is significantly shorter.

Metars:
EICK 262000Z 17004KT 0150 R17/0450N R35/0400N -DZRA FG OVC001 13/13 Q1010 TEMPO 0300=
EICK 261930Z 17004KT 140V200 0150 R17/0400N R35/0400N -DZ FG OVC001 14/13 Q1011 TEMPO 0300=
EICK 261900Z 15006KT 0150 R17/0500N R35/0450D -DZ FG OVC001 14/13 Q1010 TEMPO 0300=
EICK 261830Z 13007KT 0350 R17/1400D R35/0600D -DZ FG OVC001 14/14 Q1010 TEMPO 0300=
EICK 261800Z 10008KT 1100 R17/P2000 R35/1500N -RA BKN001 BKN002 14/14 Q1010 TEMPO 0300=
EICK 261730Z 10006KT 2000 BR SCT001 BKN002 14/14 Q1010 TEMPO 0300=
EICK 261700Z 10005KT 1100 R17/2000N R35/P2000 -RA BKN001 BKN002 14/14 Q1010 TEMPO 0300=
EICK 261630Z 14005KT 0600 R17/1000N R35/0700N FG BKN001 BKN002 14/14 Q1011 TEMPO 0300=
EICK 261600Z 16007KT 0900 R17/1800N R35/1800D FG BKN001 BKN002 14/14 Q1011 TEMPO 0300=
EICK 261530Z 17009KT 4000 -RA BKN003 15/14 Q1011 BECMG 3000=
EICK 261500Z 15014KT 5000 BR BKN003 15/14 Q1011 TEMPO 4000=
EICK 261430Z 15014KT 8000 BKN004 15/14 Q1011 TEMPO 4000=
EICK 261400Z 12013KT 9999 -RA SCT005 BKN090 15/14 Q1011 TEMPO 4000 BKN004=
Aircraft Registration Data
Registration mark
EI-FAT
Country of Registration
Ireland
Date of Registration
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Manufacturer
ATR-GIE AVIONS DE TRANSPORT REGIONAL
Aircraft Model / Type
ATR 72-212 A
ICAO Aircraft Type
AT72
Year of Manufacture
Ckhk Subscribe to unlock
Serial Number
npk Subscribe to unlock
Maximum Take off Mass (MTOM) [kg]
NipjA Subscribe to unlock
Engine Count
E Subscribe to unlock
Engine
Epiblb f Subscribe to unlock
Main Owner
Mh mmihqjhkcAepfmfg qehepmhh ljpfjmcp Subscribe to unlock
Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 26, 2017

Classification
Accident

Airline
Stobart Air

Flight number
EI-3727

Departure
Manchester, United Kingdom

Destination
Cork, Ireland

Aircraft Registration
EI-FAT

Aircraft Type
ATR ATR-72-200

ICAO Type Designator
AT72

Airport
Cork Airport, Cork

Airport ICAO Code
EICK

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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