Military

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Quito - Macará

MSN:

457

YOM:

1975

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane was completing a flight from Quito to Macará, carrying members of the Ecuadorian government, Army Officers and journalists who were flying to the south of the country, taking part to the next official visit of the President of the Republic of Ecuador Jaime Roldós Aguilera. While descending to Macará, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low clouds and rain showers. Too low, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain and crashed few km from Macará. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact and all 18 occupants were killed. The airplane had a dual registration FAE457 and HC-BAX.

Probable cause:

Controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of a GAF Nomad N22B near Bewani: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 4, 1981

Type of aircraft:

GAF Nomad N.22

Operator:

Registration:

P2-011

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Imonda – Vanimo

MSN:

YOM:

1977

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

3000

Circumstances:

The crew was returning to Vanimo from Imonda where a group of soldiers was dropped for an Irian Jaya border patrol. En route, the crew encountered poor weather conditions when the airplane crashed in the Bewani Mountain Range. Both occupants were killed.
Crew:
Maj John Tasi Miria,
Lt Emmanual Skolki.

Crash of a Lockheed L-382E-27C Hercules near San Juan

Date & Time: Apr 24, 1981

Type of aircraft:

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

Operator:

Registration:

FAP396

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

4450

YOM:

1972

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

En route, the crew was forced to attempt an emergency landing due to fuel exhaustion. The airplane crash landed in an open field and was damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties.

Probable cause:

Forced landing attempted due to fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a Boeing RC-135S Cobra Ball II in Shemya: 6 killed

Date & Time: Mar 15, 1981 at 2245 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

61-2664

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Schedule:

Eielson - Shemya

MSN:

18340/C20

YOM:

1962

Location:

Shemya

Alaska

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

18638

Circumstances:

The approach to Shemya Airport was initiated by night and poor weather conditions with turbulences, fog and snow falls. On final, the crew failed to realize he was too low when the airplane struck the ground and crashed few hundred yards short of runway threshold. Six occupants were killed while 18 others were rescued.
Those killed were:
Maj William R. Bennett,
Cpt Larry A. Mayfield,
1st Lt Loren O. Ginter,
M/Sgt Stephen L. Kish,
S/Sgt Steven C. Balcer,
S/Sgt Harry L. Parsons III.

Crash of a Lockheed MC-130EY-1 Hercules off Tabones Islands: 23 killed

Date & Time: Feb 26, 1981 at 0525 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

Operator:

Registration:

64-0564

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Cubi Point - Cubi Point

MSN:

4074

YOM:

1965

Flight number:

Stray 59

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft departed Cubi Point NAS at 0428LT on an exercise over the South China Sea under call sign Stray 59, carrying members of the USAF as well as military personnel from Australia, Philippines and New Zealand. At 0525LT, while cruising at very low height, the airplane apparently hit the water and crashed off Tabones Islands. A crew member was rescued while 23 other occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-104A in Pushkin: 50 killed

Date & Time: Feb 7, 1981 at 1800 LT

Type of aircraft:

Tupolev TU-104

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-42332

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Pushkin - Khabarovsk – Vladivostok

MSN:

7 66 004 02

YOM:

1957

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Eight seconds after liftoff from runway 21 at Pushkin AFB, while climbing to a height of about 50 meters in light snow, the airplane banked right, overturned then crashed in a huge explosion near the airport. All 50 occupants were killed. The aircraft was carrying many of the Pacific Fleet's senior officers from Leningrad, where they had been attending meetings with the naval command, to Vladivostok, via Khabarovsk. Among the dead were 16 admirals and generals, including the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Emil Spiridonov and his wife.

Probable cause:

The investigation of the accident revealed that the crew allowed the aircraft to be improperly loaded. Evidence was uncovered that led investigators to believe that some military officers did not comply with seating assignments given by the crew and that these officers pressured the crew to make the flight in an unsafely loaded aircraft. Another factor reported by witnesses was that large rolls of paper were loaded on board and it is believed that these rolled rearward during acceleration on take off, causing the center of gravity (CofG) to shift aft of acceptable limits thereby reducing the stability of the aircraft in pitch, making it impossible for the crew to lower the nose.

Crash of a Lockheed C-130E Hercules at Ramstein AFB: 9 killed

Date & Time: Jan 14, 1981 at 0920 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lockheed C-130 Hercules

Operator:

Registration:

69-6581

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Schedule:

Ramstein - Oslo

MSN:

4357

YOM:

1969

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Ramstein AFB, while in initial climb, the four engine airplane stalled and crashed on an ammunition depot, bursting into flames. All nine occupants were killed. It was reported that the aircraft nosed up and the tail stalled.

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-1-DL at Çiğli AFB

Date & Time: Jan 8, 1981

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

HEK-15

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Site:

Aegean Region (Ege Bölgesi)

MSN:

20883

YOM:

1944

Location:

Çiğli AFB (Izmir)

Country:

Turkey

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane crashed in unknown circumstances at Çiğli AFB. Occupants fate unknown.

Crash of an Avro 748-2A in Lake Manyara

Date & Time: Dec 31, 1980

Type of aircraft:

Avro 748

Operator:

Registration:

JW9008

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Yes

Site: