Crash of an Antonov AN-24B in Havana: 5 killed

Date & Time: Mar 18, 1976
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CU-T879
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Havana - Havana
MSN:
67302501
YOM:
1976
Country:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The crew departed Havana-José Martí-Rancho Boyeros Airport on a local training mission. After it entered the approach path, the twin engine airplane collided with a Cubana Douglas DC-8-43. Registered CU-T1200, the DC-8 was approaching the same airport following an uneventful flight from Montreal with 13 passengers and a crew of 16 on board. Following the collision, the Antonov AN-24 went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in flames. All five occupants were killed. The crew of the DC-8 was able to continue the approach and to land without further problems. All 29 occupants escaped uninjured but the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair after the engine n°1 was torn off as well as a part of the left wing.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18V in Frunze: 6 killed

Date & Time: Jan 30, 1976 at 1535 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-75558
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Frunze - Frunze
MSN:
184 0075 05
YOM:
1964
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Aircraft flight hours:
17652
Aircraft flight cycles:
7623
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a local training flight at Frunze-Manas Airport. On final approach, both right engines n°3 & 4 were shut down to simulate a double engine failure. While at 3,500 metres from the runway threshold at a speed of 300 km/h, the crew deployed the flaps at 30° when the airplane entered an area of limited visibility (less than 1,500 metres). The captain decided to initiate a go-around and triggered both right engine. For unknown reasons, the engine n°3 failed to restart. Due to an insufficient speed, the airplane banked right to an angle of 55-60° then lost height and crashed in flames short of runway threshold. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all six crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
The accident was the consequence of several errors on part of the flying crew which led the aircraft in a configuration that became uncontrollable. The instructor allowed a pilot under training to seat in the front left seat while his experience and capabilities were insufficient for such flight configuration. The crew decided to deploy the flaps at 30° with both right engines not running, which caused the airplane's speed to drop to a critical value of 220 km/h. The decision of the crew to restart both right engines was too late.

Crash of a Cessna 402 in San José: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 13, 1976 at 1353 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
TI-AVE
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
San José - Santa José
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The aircraft was engaged in a local training flight, carrying one pilot under supervision, one instructor and one pilot from the Civil Aviation Authority. Shortly after takeoff from runway 07, while climbing, the twin engine airplane went out of control and crashed in flames in a wooded area located 2 km northeast of the airfield, near the farm called La Fuente. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and all three occupants have been killed.
Crew:
José María Fernández Jiménez,
Ricardo José Cordero Murillo,
Adrián Garro.

Crash of a Rockwell T-39E Sabreliner near Ukiah: 2 killed

Date & Time: Dec 21, 1975 at 1055 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
157352
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Alameda - Alameda
MSN:
282-46
YOM:
1965
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew departed Alameda NAS for a training mission when the airplane crashed in unknown circumstances in a mountainous area located 11 miles south of Ukiah. Both pilots were killed.

Crash of a Boeing KC-135A-BN near Eielson AFB: 4 killed

Date & Time: Dec 7, 1975
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
60-0354
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Eielson - Eielson
MSN:
18129/468
YOM:
1961
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Aircraft flight hours:
6594
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Eielson AFB, while climbing, the crew encountered technical problems with the undercarriage when the airplane went out of control and crashed on a frozen lake located five miles south of the airbase. The aircraft was destroyed and all four crew members were killed. They were involved in a local training mission.

Crash of a Grumman TC-4C Gulfstream I at Cherry Point MCAS: 9 killed

Date & Time: Oct 16, 1975
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
155723
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Cherry Point - Cherry Point
MSN:
178
YOM:
1967
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
Shortly after lift off, a low torque sensing switch failed precipitating an auto feather of an engine. The crew mis-handled the required feathering procedure, allowing the propeller to unfeather and windmill. Subsequently, the crew retracted the flaps. This disabled a spring tab on the rudder which was designed to give additional rudder authority for high power/low airspeed situations. The result of the windmilling propeller and the loss in rudder authority was that V(mca) increased from 101 kts to 138 kts. The airplane rolled inverted and crashed. Witness marks on the operating engine's propeller reportedly indicated that the airplane's speed when it crashed was less than 90 kts. All on board, four crew men, four students and one instructor, were killed.

Crash of a Convair C-131F Samaritan in Galivan: 4 killed

Date & Time: Sep 26, 1975
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
141012
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
El Toro - El Toro
MSN:
295
YOM:
1955
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a local training flight out from El Toro MCAS. After takeoff, while climbing, the airplane went out of control and crashed in the garden of the Saddleback College located about 8 miles southeast of the airfield. Four crew members were killed while two others were injured.

Crash of a Boeing B-52G-85-BW Stratofortress near Aiken: 3 killed

Date & Time: Sep 3, 1975
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
57-6493
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Seymour Johnson - Seymour Johnson
MSN:
464198
YOM:
1957
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The crew departed Seymour Johnson for a routine training mission. While cruising at an altitude of 28,000 feet, a structural failure occurred in the right wing that partially detached and struck the horizontal stabilizer. Out of control, the airplane entered a dive and four of the seven crew members were able to eject and were later found alive. The aircraft crashed between Aiken and Williston and disintegrated. Debris scattered on a wide area and three crew members were killed.
Crew:
Cpt James A. Perry,
Cpt Donald Exum,
Cpt Gregory A. Watts,
2nd Lt Hector M. Marquez,
Sgt Ricky K. Griffith, †
1st Lt Melvin M. Bewley, †
1st Lt Grady E. Rudolph. †
Probable cause:
A major fuel leak caused a structural failure of the right wing that separated between the third & fourth engine nacelles. The wing then shearing off the horizontal stabilizer, causing the aircraft to be uncontrollable.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-80-DL in Colina: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jul 31, 1975
Operator:
Registration:
970
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Santiago - Santiago
MSN:
19730
YOM:
1944
Country:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Santiago de Chile-Pudahuel Airport for a local training mission with a crew of three and four paratroopers on board. While cruising at a relative low altitude, the paratroopers bailed out when one of them struck a stabilizer. Control was lost and the airplane crashed in Colina, about 23 km northeast of Pudahuel Airport. All seven occupants were killed.

Crash of a Douglas C-47D at Landsberg AFB: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jul 26, 1975
Operator:
Registration:
14+07
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Landsberg - Lechfeld
MSN:
16446/33194
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The crew departed Landsberg AFB on a training flight to the Lechfeld Airbase located 12 km to the north. Shortly after takeoff, the airplane went out of control and crashed in Kaufering, three km northwest of the airfield. All three crew members were killed.