The pilots retarded the right thrust lever and the symptoms of smoke and vibration cleared, leading them to believe the problem had been identified, and then the right engine was shut down.

The tip of the fan blade that had lodged in the cowling from the earlier event became dislodged and was drawn into the core of the engine, damaging it and causing a fire.

[9] After the initial blade fracture, Captain Kevin Hunt, the non-handling pilot, took control without first advising McClelland, and disengaged the plane's autopilot.

The captain later claimed that his perception of smoke as coming forward from the passenger cabin led them to assume the fault was in the right engine.

[12] When the pilots retarded the right engine, they could no longer smell the smoke or feel the vibration, which led them to believe that they had correctly dealt with the problem.

As it turned out, this was due to a combination of the Power Management Control unit and autothrottle which was disengaged prior to shutting down the right engine, the fuel flow to both engines was reduced, and the excess fuel, which had been igniting in the left engine exhaust, disappeared; therefore, the ongoing damage was reduced, the smell of smoke ceased, and the vibration reduced, although it would still have been visible on cockpit instruments which were "at best unclear and at worst misleading" according to Dr Roger Green from the RAF Institute of Air Medicine.

[13] During the final approach to the East Midlands Airport, the pilots selected increased thrust from the operating, damaged engine.

Just before crossing the M1 motorway at 20:24:43, the tail and main landing gear struck the ground at a speed of 213 km/h (115 kn; 132 mph) and the aircraft bounced back into the air and over the motorway, knocking down trees and a lamp post before crashing on the far embankment around 475 metres (519 yd) short of the active runway's paved surface and about 630 metres (690 yd) from its threshold.

[17] A former Royal Marine, he helped passengers for over three hours, and subsequently received damages for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Whilst he was conducting the review, however, he was interrupted by a transmission from East Midlands Airport informing him he could descend further to 12,000 feet (3,700 m) in preparation for the diverted landing.

Following the crash, testing all newly designed and significantly redesigned turbofan engines under representative flight conditions is now mandatory.

[24] Evaluation of the injuries sustained led to considerable improvements in aircraft safety and emergency instructions for passengers.

[7] These were derived from a research programme funded by the CAA and carried out by teams from the University of Nottingham and Hawtal Whiting Structures (an engineering consultancy company).

The study between medical staff and engineers used analytical "occupant kinematics" techniques to assess the effectiveness of the brace position.

The research into this accident led to the formation on 21 November 2016 of the International Board for Research into Aircraft Crash Events, which is a joint co-operation between experts in the field for the purpose of producing an internationally agreed-upon, evidence-based set of impact bracing positions for passengers and (eventually) cabin crew members in a variety of seating configurations.

A memorial was built in the village cemetery in nearby Kegworth to "those who died, those who were injured and those who took part in the rescue operation", together with a garden made using soil from the crash site.

[26] Captain Hunt and First Officer McClelland, both seriously injured in the crash, were dismissed following the criticisms of their actions in the Air Accidents Investigation Branch report.

[7] Alan Webb, the chief fire officer at East Midlands Airport, was made an MBE in the 1990 New Year Honours list for the co-ordination of his team in the rescue efforts that followed the crash.

[29] Graham Pearson, a passing motorist who assisted Kegworth survivors at the crash site for three hours, sued the airline for post-traumatic stress disorder and was awarded £57,000 in damages in 1998 (equivalent to £101,800 in 2023).