On 10 February 2011, the Fairchild Metro III aircraft flying the route with ten passengers and two crew on board crashed on its third attempt to land at Cork Airport in foggy conditions.

[2][3] It stated that the probable cause of the accident was loss of control during an attempted go-around below decision height in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).

Cork Approach informed the flight crew about weather conditions at Kerry Airport, which were "good" with 10-kilometre (6.2 mi; 5.4 nmi) visibility.

[4]: 11 At 09:50:34, following both initial impacts the aircraft continued inverted for a further 189 metres (620 ft; 207 yd)[7][8] and came to a rest in soft ground to the right of the runway.

During this time, the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) began to sound in the Control Tower at Cork Airport.

Their pairing together on the flight was considered inappropriate and highly unusual due to their shared lack of total experience.

The data from the FDR was extracted by the AAIU in Dublin,[4]: 35  while the CVR was sent to the UK's Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) for download.

[21][22] There were accredited representatives to the team from the United States FAA and NTSB,[7] the Aviation Incidents and Accidents Investigation (AIAI) of Israel (as the "State of Type Certificate Holder"), Spain's Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission and the British AAIB.

[4]: 7 The wreckage was transported to the AAIU's examination facility at Gormanston, County Meath, to allow investigators to reconstruct the aircraft as far as possible.

[7][4]: 12 A preliminary report, issued in March 2011, stated that the aircraft, being flown by the co-pilot, had deviated from the runway centre-line on final approach and that the crew decided to execute a third go-around four seconds before impact.

The probable cause was stated as loss of control during an attempted go-around below decision height in instrument meteorological conditions.

Correct adherence to European aviation regulations (EU-OPS) by the AOC-holder should have prevented this inappropriate pairing of a newly promoted captain with a relatively inexperienced first officer.

However, it was noted that AESA had been aware that the two aircraft added to the AOC had previously been operated from an Isle of Man base for the same ticket seller under a Spanish AOC held by a Company called Eurocontinental Air, which they had suspended because of "problems that arose in that operation" and following "an extended ramp inspection" at the Isle of Man.

It noted that, since the UK and Irish regulators were expressly prohibited by Regulation (EC) 1008/2008 from exercising any regulatory function in respect of the operation of aircraft from other Member States within and between their territories, both were obliged to rely on the oversight of Spain "to ensure compliance in regulatory matters".

In this situation, the only control on safety standards was observed to have been the SAFA programme of ramp checks which in this case had not identified the extent of systemic shortcomings.

Finally, the investigation noted the involvement of the EU Air Safety Committee in relation to the accident operator in the months following the investigated accident and considered that the scope of its remit might usefully be widened "as part of the EU aviation safety net".

The CVR indicates that the commander (PNF) took control of the power levers during final approach, this action being acknowledged by the PF.

This thrust asymmetry was coincident with the aircraft commencing a roll to the left (maximum recorded value of 40 degrees bank).

It called for the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) of the European Commission and for the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to review the enforcement of flight time limitations for flight crews, to issue guidance on successive instrument approaches in IMC resulting in a go-around, to review the syllabus for the appointment to aircraft commander, to restrict ticket sellers from exercising operation control of air carriers, to ensure that the granting of AOC variations remains within the competence of the air carrier, to improve safety oversight and the efficacy of ramp inspections, and to review the scope of DG MOVE's Air Safety Committee.

AOC-holder Flightline was recommended to review its operational policy of an immediate diversion following an aborted landing due to weather, and to implement suitable training for personnel responsible for flight safety and accident prevention.

Spanish aviation authority AESA was recommended to review its oversight of air carriers, in particular those conducting remote operations.

[22][26] Martin McGuinness, the then deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, revealed that he had intended to be on the flight, but had changed his travel plans.

McGuinness was due to travel to Cork to campaign in the forthcoming Irish general election, scheduled for 25 February.

[24] In April 2011, pilot Oliver Lee, who had formerly flown Manx2 services between Belfast City and Cork, committed suicide.

[35][needs update] An inquest was held in June 2014,[36] in which a jury returned verdicts of accidental death on all six victims.