Piper PA-31-310 Navajo

The twin engine aircraft departed Caracas-Maiquetía-Simón Bolívar Airport on a private flight to Willemstad-Hato Airport, Curaçao, with two passengers and one pilot on board. During initial climb, the pilot reported engine problems and was cleared for an immediate return when he lost control of the airplane that crashed onto several buildings located in the district of Catia La Mar, about 6 km short of runway 09 threshold. The aircraft burst into flames and was totally destroyed. All three occupants as well as three people on the ground were killed. Five other people were injured.

The pilot and the passenger, a photographer, departed Vancouver at 0911LT with 5.5 hours of fuel to conduct a VFR aerial photographic flight over the Arrow Lakes area. At 1420LT, the aircraft entered the circuit at Revelstoke Airport to refuel and to allow the photographer to change camera film. The pilot reportedly selected the landing gear down as the aircraft turned base and heard the gear clunk into position. When the aircraft turned final however, the red in-transit light was illuminated and the nose gear was not visible in the mirror. The pilot selected the gear lever up and down a couple of times but the gear did not extend. When the pilot advanced the throttles to conduct an overshoot, both engines surged and sputtered. The pilot retarded the throttles and conducted a gear-up landing in a grassy area off the end of runway 30. During the landing, the dry 8-inch high grass caught fire. Both occupants escaped from the aircraft that was destroyed by ground fire.

The aircraft was carrying tourists, including the organizer of the trip to Matambwe. These passengers included five adults, a boy of sixteen, three girls of eleven, five and four years. There was also an infant of 11 months. This trip was arranged by a company called Tent with a View Safaris, which owns a camp at Matambwe in the Selous Game Reserve. According to the company, initially two aircraft were organized to transport the passengers to Matambwe. The booking was made through a telephone call to an operator called Wings of Zanzibar, who advised them to go to Terminal I of Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam. However, when the passengers arrived at the Wings of Zanzibar office at the airport, they found it closed. When Wings of Zanzibar was contacted on the telephone, a pilot employed by another company, DJB Ltd, was alerted to meet them. The pilot initially took them to the offices of DJB for payment. He also recommended that one aircraft would suffice for the trip. According to the pilot, he believed that the three children were small enough to sit on their parents’ laps. The passengers had little baggage. The aircraft, a Piper PA31-310 Navajo, took off from Dar es Salaam at 0825 hours and cruised at FL 65. The flight to Matambwe was uneventful and the aircraft was overhead the airstrip at 0902 hours. The pilot over flew the airstrip to alert the camp staff and check for wind and animals, a common procedure for landing in the Game Reserve airstrips. He also made another low run over the runway to ascertain its condition. Eye witnesses and passengers confirmed that the pilot made an overshoot, having flown very low attempting to land. The pilot was not sure of the runway condition because he had not flown into this airfield for a long time. In addition, before embarking on this trip, he had requested information on the runway condition from another pilot who had recently flown into the airstrip. He was told that the runway was usable. Finally, the pilot decided to land. He chose to land on runway 28 with full flaps. He touched down about two hundred and fifty meters beyond the beginning of the usable part of the runway and braked normally. After rolling for some time, he realized that the aircraft would not be able to stop before the end of the remaining length of the runway. With about another two hundred and fifty meters ahead, the pilot initiated a go round believing he had sufficient runway length remaining to gather enough speed for takeoff and climb out. He immediately increased power and initiated the go around. It is at this moment that the aircraft became airborne with no speed increase. The aircraft flew straight and level at full power without gaining height. It subsequently started chopping small tree tops for about two hundred meters beyond the end of the runway and then started to lose height. As it did so, the starboard wing collided with a large tree and the aircraft rotated through 180 degrees before coming to rest. The main wreckage settled below the impact tree and the passengers evacuated immediately. The wreckage caught fire immediately after the last passenger was evacuated. It burned completely, leaving only the tail fin and parts of the engine nacelle. When staff members from Tent with a View Camp located at Matambwe arrived, the aircraft was burning fiercely. They assisted in moving the occupants to a safer location, far from the burning wreckage and in administering first aid. The aircraft occupants were later treated at a local dispensary before being transported to a hospital in Dar es Salaam. One passenger died in the hospital four hours after the accident. Two passengers were treated for serious injuries. The injuries to the rest of the occupants were minor.

The twin engine aircraft departed La Serena-La Florida Airport at 1053LT on a geophysical mission over Domeyko, carrying one passenger and one pilot who were involved in a magnetic prospection mission on behalf of a mining program. Seven minutes after takeoff, the pilot informed ATC about his altitude at 6,500 feet and that he would descend to 500 feet once over the Domeyko area. About half an hour later, the aircraft crashed on the slope of Mt Yerbas Buenas, about 84 km north of La Serena Airport, bursting into flames. The wreckage was found four hours later at an altitude of 1,579 metres. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire and both occupants were killed.

The airplane was making a public use flight between two islands for the purpose of transporting residents of a correctional facility to court hearings. During descent to the destination airport, at an altitude of approximately 1,400 feet, both engines started surging. The pilot's attempts to restore normal engine power were unsuccessful, and he ditched the airplane in ocean water with both engines still surging. The airplane stayed afloat as he and the passengers exited, and then it sank. The airplane was not recovered from the ocean, precluding its examination and determination of the reason for the dual loss of engine power.

The aircraft was landing on runway 30 at Wetaskiwin Airport following an IFR mail flight from Fort Vermilion. During the landing, the crew lost sight of the runway in a thin layer of dense fog that covered the airport. They aborted the landing, and the aircraft settled into a field about ½ mile northwest of the airport. Both pilots sustained serious injuries and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. The flight crew used a cell phone to call for help. The emergency locator transmitter (ELT) activated during impact.

Shortly after liftoff, about 20 feet above the ground, the pilot noticed a drop in the right engine manifold pressure. As the airplane began a right roll, efforts by the pilot to arrest the roll failed. When the pilot decided to put the airplane back on the ground, the right wing collided with the ground, the airplane cart wheeled and came to rest on its belly and burst into flames. Examination of the wreckage site revealed the aircraft located approximately 200 feet on the northwest side of the runway 22 centerline. The left fuel tank was ruptured and the left side of the airplane was fire damaged. Both occupants were slightly injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

While maneuvering during a precautionary landing with the right engine shutdown, the airplane entered a Vmc roll and an uncontrolled descent, and impacted wires, trees, and terrain. According to air traffic control communications, while en route the pilot experienced a rough running right engine and performed a precautionary shutdown of the engine. The pilot elected to divert to an airport and received vectors from air traffic control for a visual approach. Witnesses who were located at the airport reported the airplane was on a normal downwind for the runway. When the airplane reached the approach end of the runway, the pilot turned to the right which was away from the airport. A witness who was monitoring the UNICOM frequency informed the pilot he was turning away from the airport and the pilot responded, "Busy." The airplane continued the right turn subsequently entered a Vmc roll and a rapid descent toward the terrain. The airplane wreckage was located on hilly, rocky terrain approximately 3 miles south of the airport. The airplane was fragmented and destroyed during the impact sequence and post-impact fire. Examination of the airframe and propellers revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. Examination of the left engine revealed the forward gearbox was destroyed and mechanical continuity of the rotating components and internal mechanisms was established. Examination of the right engine revealed the forward gearbox was destroyed and mechanical continuity of the rotating components and internal mechanisms was established. The reason for the reported rough running engine was not determined. The lifters installed in both engines during the overhauls were not approved lifters for the accident engines.

Shortly after takeoff from Sevilla-San Pablo Airport runway 27, while in initial climb, the twin engine aircraft suffered a right engine failure. It rolled to the right then lost height and crashed 1,500 metres from the runway end, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all three occupants were killed.