Positioning

Crashed in unknown circumstances while approaching La Carlota-General Francisco de Miranda Airport. Both pilots were killed.

The aircraft was operating a company charter flight. It took off from Dar es salaam International airport at 0418 hrs for a flight to Morogoro where it was to pick passengers destined for Tabora. The pilot was the oni y occupant. At 0419:49 hrs 5H-TZD passed to the Dar Control Tower his estimates for TMA as 0439 hrs and Morogoro 0449 hrs. At 0425:13 hrs the aircraft reported to be maintaining flight level 60 and the Dar es Salaam Approach (which was then combined with the Tower advised him to maintain FL060 and to report on checking the TMA boundary. Subsequent to this and at about the same time 5H-TZD contacted the Military base located at Ngerengere on 118.25 MHz and requested permission to transit the Military area (HT) P6 (A) UNLI/GND. Permission was not granted because the area was active. (The pilot subsequently advised Ngerengere that he was to proceed to Morogoro by flying south of the Prohibited Area. The last communication between the aircraft and Ngerengere took place at 0439 hrs when the aircraft was south of Ngerengere. At 0440.08 hrs 5H-TZD called on 118.3 MHz (the Dar es Salaam Tower frequency) advising that he was transmitting blind and revised the TMA estimate to 0441 hours FL60. The ETA for Morogoro was a1so revised to 0451 hours. He was to call on Top of Descent. At 0440:31 hrs the Dar Tower acknow1edged the transmission. Subsequent to this a sound which resembled a series ot clicks of the mike was heard in the Dar Tower. There was no further Communication between 5H-TZD and the Dar es Salaam Tower. At 0850 hrs the owner of the aircraft telephoned the Dar es salaam Control Centre to alert that 5H-TZD had not landed at Morogoro. The Dar ACC instituted an ALERT PHASE and activated the Rescue Coordination Centre. The wreckage of this aircraft was discovered by villagers on top of Palapala mountains on 5 May 1996. The search and rescue effort took 11 days because of adverse weather conditions, the thick tropical vegetation at the crash site and the fact that the route of the aircraft was not known.

The approach to Cobán Airport was initiated in poor weather conditions with limited visibility due to fog. Too low, the aircraft struck trees and crashed in a wooded area located 7,2 km short of runway. Both pilots were killed. They were completing a positioning flight from Guatemala City.

While cruising at a relative low altitude under VFR mode in IMC conditions (snow falls), the crew saw a mountain. To avoid a collision, the pilot increased engine power but the aircraft struck trees and crashed in a wooded area located on the Takami Peak, near Kawatana. Both pilots were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

En route from Imperatriz to Fazenda Matary, the captain informed the copilot he would perform training upon arrival as there are no passengers on board. On descent, he informed ATC he would perform a touch-and-go manoeuvre. With the flaps down at 15°, the aircraft landed at a speed of 125 knots, about 10 knots above the speed reference of 116 knots. After touchdown, the captain changed his mind and decided to perform a complete stop without informing the copilot. The copilot noted that the speed was dropping so he decided to increase engine power to takeoff. Shortly later, the captain reduced power and initiated a braking procedure. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the aircraft overran and came to rest few dozen metres further, bursting into flames. All three occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire.

The aircraft was completing a positioning flight from Asunción to Campinas on behalf of Alas Paraguayas, under flight number ALA028. As there was no cargo on board, the crew decided to make profit of the situation to perform training upon takeoff. During the takeoff roll on runway 02, at Vr speed, the captain reduced the power on engine n°1 and after liftoff, he reduced power on engine n°2. With the undercarriage still down and the flaps at 15°, the aircraft became unstable, lost height and crashed in the district of Mariano Roque Alonso, about 1,500 metres past the runway end. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all four occupants were killed as well as 18 people on ground, most of them children taking part to a volleyball game.

The pilot reported that as he overflew the Tri-City airport, Tennessee at 9,000 feet, the right engine power slowly decreased. The airplane was in the clouds with an outside air temperature of about zero degrees Celsius. Right engine manifold heat was applied for a few seconds, with no noticeable difference in engine performance. The right magnetos were also checked with no obvious malfunctions noted. A descent for landing was initiated to the Tri-City airport and manifold heat was applied and removed several times, with no appreciable effect. On short final approach, when the landing gear was extended, the right main gear did not indicate down. There was insufficient time to perform the emergency gear extension procedure. A go-around was initiated, during which the pilot discovered that the left manifold heat control was now stuck in the 'ON' position. The pilot stated that with less than full power available on the left engine, and the right propeller unfeathered, the airplane could be climbed to about 200 feet. He flew the airplane until terrain clearance was no longer possible, then landed in a field, gear up. The airplane slid into trees and was substantially damaged.

The aircraft was destroyed after an uncontrolled descent into the Pacific ocean about 14 miles west-southwest of El Segundo, California. The pilot was presumed to have been fatally injured. According to a company search pilot, visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the accident area about 1.5 hours after the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed for the positioning flight which originated at Oxnard, California, on the morning of the accident for a flight to San Diego, California. The aircraft departed Oxnard on a special VFR clearance. The tops of the clouds were reported to be about 1,200 feet msl. The aircraft transitioned southbound through the NAWS Point Mugu airspace. The Point Mugu radar approach control monitored the aircraft on radar for about 25 miles. The pilot was subsequently given a frequency change to SOCAL Tracon. There was no contact made with that facility. A search was initiated when the aircraft failed to arrive at the intended destination. A review of the recorded radar data revealed the aircraft was level at 1,800 feet msl and then climbed to about 2,000 feet msl, at which time it disappeared from radar.

The pilot reported that shortly after takeoff, the airplane's left engine started to surge. The airplane also began experiencing intermittent electrical surges which caused the instrument panel lights, cabin lights, and radios to go off and on. The pilot diverted to an alternate airport to land. He did not secure the left engine before landing because it was still developing some usable power. He placed the gear select handle in the down position and observed three green gear-down-and-locked lights. Prior to touchdown, both power levers were positioned to flight idle and no gear warning horn sounded. The airplane landed gear up. Postaccident examination revealed no abnormalities with the landing gear or electrical system. The landing gear emergency extension functioned properly. The landing gear indicating system showed a safe gear indication when the gear was extended during examination. Substantial damage to the gear doors was observed, but no damage to the landing gear was observed.

The pilot took off from an uncontrolled airport. He attempted to obtain an IFR clearance and reported that he was VFR at 3,500 feet. While air traffic control personnel were locating the flight plan and coordinating the IFR clearance, they lost radio contact with the pilot. The pilot continued to fly towards his destination, transiting rising mountainous terrain which was partially obscured by clouds. Wreckage was located about 28 nautical miles from the departure airport, at the 4,050-foot level. There was no evidence of mechanical failure or malfunction. According to FAR Part 91.3, the pilot had the ultimate authority for the operation of the airplane, and in the case of an in-flight emergency, had the authority to deviate from flight rules "to the extent required to meet that emergency." According to the AIM, an emergency could be either "a distress or an urgency condition." An urgency condition would exist "the moment the pilot becomes doubtful about position... weather, or any other condition that could adversely affect flight safety." Under FAR Part 91.3, the pilot would have been authorized to climb the airplane under IFR conditions, even if he were to enter controlled airspace.