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It remains unclear why there were multiple electrical system failures in a Blue Islands flight that was forced to return to Guernsey after take-off last January.

An update was published by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) over the weekend, ahead of a full report being published once the investigation concludes. 

Blue Islands’ G-ISLM ATR-72 aircraft had to immediately return to Guernsey Airport on 10 January 2025 after takeoff due to what was described at the time as technical issues.

The flight was heading to Jersey that morning but the issue forced the closure of the runway for around an hour with passengers taken back to the terminal by bus and the aircraft was towed off the tarmac. 

The AAIB has now noted that examinations of the electric system found the starter/generator on the right turboprop engine caused overvoltage which affected the aircraft, but said it “remains unclear” why in-built safety systems did not isolate this.