Mountains | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The twin engine airplane departed Nuquí Airport at 1256LT on a flight to Quibdó, carrying two passengers and one pilot. Two minutes after takeoff, the pilot informed ATC he was flying at an altitude of 1,500 feet and estimated his ETA at Quibdó-El Caraño Airport at 1315LT. Nine minutes into the flight, while cruising in IMC conditions, the aircraft contacted trees and crashed in a dense wooded area located near Serranía del Baudó, some 50 km north of Nuquí. SAR operations were initiated but the wreckage was found five days later only. Both passengers, a female aged 18 and her baby aged 8 months were evacuated with minor injuries while the pilot was killed. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces.

Probable cause:

The accident was the consequence of a controlled flight into terrain following the decision of the pilot to continue under VFR mode in IMC conditions.
The following contributing factors were identified:
- Poor risk assessment when planning a flight in VFR conditions over a mountainous area, even though the weather conditions were unfavorable.
- Loss of situational awareness after entering the mountain area under VFR mode in IMC conditions, resulting in a CFIT.

Final Report:

Crash of a Swearingen SA226TC Metro II on Mt Seymour: 2 killed

Date & Time: Apr 13, 2015 at 0708 LT

Type of aircraft:

Swearingen SA226 Metro II

Operator:

Registration:

C-GSKC

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Vancouver – Prince George – Dawson Creek – Fort Saint John

MSN:

TC-235

YOM:

1977

Flight number:

CA066

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

2885

Captain / Total hours on type:

1890.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

1430

Copilot / Total hours on type:

Aircraft flight hours:

33244

Circumstances:

On 13 April 2015, Carson Air Ltd. flight 66 (CA66), a Swearingen SA226-TC Metro II (registration C-GSKC, serial number TC-235), departed Vancouver International Airport (CYVR), British Columbia, with 2 pilots on board for an instrument flight rules flight to Prince George, British Columbia. At 0709 Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), approximately 6 minutes after leaving Vancouver, the aircraft disappeared from air traffic control radar while climbing through an altitude of 8700 feet above sea level in instrument meteorological conditions, about 4 nautical miles north of the built-up area of North Vancouver. Deteriorating weather conditions with low cloud and heavy snowfall hampered an air search; however, aircraft wreckage was found on steep, mountainous, snow-covered terrain by ground searchers at approximately 1645 PDT. The aircraft had experienced a catastrophic in-flight breakup. Both pilots were fatally injured, and the aircraft was destroyed. Although the aircraft’s 406-megahertz emergency locator transmitter activated, the antenna was damaged and no signal was received by the Cospas-Sarsat (international satellite system for search and rescue). The accident occurred during daylight hours.

Probable cause:

Findings as to causes and contributing factors:
1. For unknown reasons, the aircraft descended in the direction of flight at high speed until it exceeded its structural limits, leading to an in-flight breakup.
2. Based on the captain’s blood alcohol content, alcohol intoxication almost certainly played a role in the events leading up to the accident.

Findings as to risk:
1. If cockpit or data recordings are not available to an investigation, the identification and communication of safety deficiencies to advance transportation safety may be precluded.
2. If Canadian Aviation Regulations Subpart 703 operators are not required to have a Transport Canada–approved safety management system, which is assessed on a regular basis, there is a risk that those companies will not have the necessary processes in place to manage safety effectively.
3. If safety issues, such as concerns related to drug or alcohol abuse, are not reported formally through a company’s safety reporting system, there is a risk that hazards will not be managed effectively.
4. Transport Canada’s Handbook for Civil Aviation Medical Examiners(TP 13312) does not address the complete range of conditions that may be affected by drug or alcohol dependence. As a result, there is an increased risk that undisclosed cases of drug or alcohol dependence in commercial aviation will go undetected, placing the travelling public at risk.
5. If there is no regulated drug- and alcohol-testing requirement in place to reduce the risk of impairment of persons while engaged in safety-sensitive functions, employees may undertake these duties while impaired, posing a risk to public safety.

Final Report:

Crash of an Airbus A320-211 near Prads-Haute-Bléone: 150 killed

Date & Time: Mar 24, 2015 at 1041 LT

Type of aircraft:

Airbus A320

Operator:

Registration:

D-AIPX

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Barcelona – Düsseldorf

MSN:

147

YOM:

1990

Flight number:

4U9525

Location:

Prads-Haute-Bléone

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

Country:

France

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

144

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

150

Captain / Total flying hours:

6763

Captain / Total hours on type:

3811.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

919

Copilot / Total hours on type:

540

Aircraft flight hours:

58313

Aircraft flight cycles:

46748

Circumstances:

The aircraft left Barcelona at 1000LT on a scheduled flight to Düsseldorf (flight 4U9525/GWI18G). At 1032LT, one minute after reaching its assigned cruising altitude of 38,000 feet near Toulon (level off), the aircraft started to lose altitude and continued a straight in descent during nine minutes, until it reached the altitude of 6,800 feet. It was later confirmed that no distress call was sent by the crew. Radar contact was lost at a height of 6,800 feet at 1041LT when the aircraft hit a mountain slope located near Prads-Haute-Bléone, northeast of Digne-les-Bains. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were considered as good with no storm activity, reasonable wind component and no turbulence. The crash site was reached by first rescuers in the afternoon and the aircraft disintegrated on impact. None of the 150 occupants survived the crash. The second black box (DFDR) was found on April 2, nine days after the accident.

Probable cause:

The collision with the ground was due to the deliberate and planned action of the copilot who decided to commit suicide while alone in the cockpit. The process for medical certification of pilots, in particular self-reporting in case of decrease in medical fitness between two periodic medical evaluations, did not succeed in preventing the copilot, who was experiencing mental disorder with psychotic symptoms, from exercising the privilege of his licence. The following factors may have contributed to the failure of this principle:
-The copilot’s probable fear of losing his ability to fly as a professional pilot if he had reported his decrease in medical fitness to an AME,
-The potential financial consequences generated by the lack of specific insurance covering the risks of loss of income in case of unfitness to fly,
- The lack of clear guidelines in German regulations on when a threat to public safety outweighs the requirements of medical confidentiality.
Security requirements led to cockpit doors designed to resist forcible intrusion by unauthorized persons. This made it impossible to enter the flight compartment before the aircraft impacted the terrain in the French Alps.

Final Report:

Crash of an Antonov AN-26 near Uvira: 6 killed

Date & Time: Dec 28, 2014 at 0300 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-26

Operator:

AG Air

Registration:

4L-AFS

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Entebbe – Bujumbura – Pointe-Noire

MSN:

86 08

YOM:

1979

Flight number:

AGS902

Location:

Uvira

Sud-Kivu

Country:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Region:

Africa

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft was performing a cargo flight from Entebbe to Pointe-Noire with an intermediate stop in Bujumbura, Burundi, to refuel. After takeoff, while proceeding to the west by night, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Kafinda (3,100 metres high), about 25 km south of Uvira. The wreckage was found on hilly and wooded terrain. All six occupants were killed.

Crash of a Cessna T207A Turbo Stationair 8 in Piedecuesta: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 24, 2014 at 1527 LT

Type of aircraft:

Cessna 207 Skywagon/Stationair

Operator:

Registration:

HK-4892

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Bucaramanga – Málaga

MSN:

207-0646

YOM:

1981

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total hours on type:

370.00

Aircraft flight hours:

13055

Circumstances:

The single engine aircraft departed Bucaramanga-Palonegro Airport on a charter flight to Málaga-Jerónimo de Aguayo Airport, carrying six passengers and one pilot. En route, the aircraft started a descent then a turn to the left when it impacted the slope of a mountain and crashed near Piedecuesta. The wreckage was found the following day and all seven occupants were killed. There was no fire.

Probable cause:

The investigation determined that the accident was caused by a combination of the following factors:
- A probable partial loss of engine power during flight,
- A probable loss of aerodynamic performance of the aircraft.
The following factors that could affect the performance of the aircraft are added to the two hypotheses:
1. Lack of knowledge by the dispatcher and the pilot of the exact weight of the aircraft, as well as the location of its center of gravity.
2. Decision by the pilot to fly at an altitude lower than the one stipulated in the Flight Plan submitted to the Aeronautical Authority, as well as in the SOP's.

Final Report:

Crash of a Partenavia P.68C-TC in La Bonanza: 1 killed

Date & Time: Dec 23, 2014

Type of aircraft:

Partenavia P.68

Operator:

Registration:

YV1706

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Private

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Valencia – Charallave

MSN:

242-07-TC

YOM:

1982

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The pilot Amílcar Suárez, sole on board, was killed when the twin engine aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in a mountainous area located near La Bonanza. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire. It was en route from Valencia to Charallave.

Crash of a Cessna 207 Stationair near La Molina: 3 killed

Date & Time: Nov 20, 2014 at 1430 LT

Type of aircraft:

Cessna 207 Skywagon/Stationair

Operator:

Registration:

PNP-248

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Government

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Lima – Pisco

MSN:

207-0379

YOM:

1977

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The single engine aircraft departed Lima-Callao-Jorge Chávez Airport bound for Pisco. While cruising in foggy conditions east of Lima, the airplane collided with a mountain located between La Molina and Villa Maria del Triunfo. The wreckage was found in the evening, around 1840LT, and all three occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

Controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of a Piper PA-31-425 Pressurized Navajo in Conrado Castillo: 6 killed

Date & Time: Nov 14, 2014 at 1730 LT

Type of aircraft:

Piper PA-31-310 Navajo

Operator:

Registration:

XB-ZAX

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Private

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

San Luis Potosí – Ciudad Victoria – Torreón

MSN:

31-46

YOM:

1967

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The twin engine aircraft departed San Luis Potosí on a flight to Torreón with an intermediate stop in Ciudad Victoria, carrying five passengers and one pilot. At the end of the afternoon, while descending to Ciudad Victoria Airport, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions. Too low, the aircraft impacted trees and crashed in a hilly terrain located near Conrado Castillo. The wreckage was found the following morning about 60 km northwest of Ciudad Victoria Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all six occupants were killed.
Pilot:
Juan José Castro Maldonado
Passengers:
Maribel Lumbreras,
Paulina García Lumbreras,
Lucero Salazar Méndez,
Juana Lumbreras Ruiz,
Guadalupe Lumbreras Ruiz.

Crash of a Rockwell Grand Commander 690 near Zāhedān: 7 killed

Date & Time: Oct 12, 2014 at 1920 LT

Type of aircraft:

Rockwell Grand Commander 690

Operator:

IRIPA - Islamic Republic of Iran Police Aviation

Registration:

1405

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Government

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Tehran - Zahedan

MSN:

690-11075

YOM:

1972

Location:

Zahedan

Sistan and Baluchestan

Country:

Iran

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The twin engine aircraft was flying to Zahedan with a crew of three (two pilots and a flight attendant) and four passengers, among them General Mahmoud Sadeqi, a senior police officer who was travelling to Zahedan to investigate the circumstances of a recent attack that killed four police officers. While approaching Zahedan by night, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located in the Sabzpushan Heights, north of the airport. The wreckage was found the following morning. All seven occupants were killed. A day later, Iranian Authorities said the accident was caused by technical flaws, darkness and the pilot’s unfamiliarity with the region.

Crash of a De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 near Port Moresby: 4 killed

Date & Time: Sep 20, 2014 at 0935 LT

Type of aircraft:

De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter

Operator:

Registration:

P2-KSF

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Woitape - Port Moresby

MSN:

528

YOM:

1977

Location:

Port Moresby

National Capital District

Country:

Papua New Guinea

Region:

Oceania

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

19290

Captain / Total hours on type:

5980.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

432

Copilot / Total hours on type:

172

Aircraft flight hours:

34327

Aircraft flight cycles:

46302

Circumstances:

A DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft was returning from Woitape, Central Province, to Jacksons Airport, Port Moresby on the morning of 20 September 2014 on a charter flight under the instrument flight rules (IFR). The weather at Woitape was reported to have been clear, but at Port Moresby the reported weather was low cloud and rain. Witnesses reported that the summit of Mt Lawes (1,700 ft above mean sea level (AMSL)) was in cloud all morning on the day of the accident. When the aircraft was 36 nm (67 km) from Port Moresby, air traffic control gave the flight crew a clearance to descend maintaining visual separation from terrain and to track to a left base position for runway 14 right (14R) at Jacksons Airport, Port Moresby. The clearance was accepted by the crew. When the aircraft was within 9.5 nm (17.5 km) of the airport, the pilot in command (PIC) contacted the control tower and said that they were “running into a bit of cloud” and that they “might as well pick up the ILS [instrument landing system] if it’s OK”. The flight crew could not have conducted an ILS approach from that position. They could have discontinued their visual approach and requested radar vectoring for an ILS approach. However, they did not do so. The Port Moresby Aerodrome Terminal Information Service (ATIS), current while the aircraft was approaching Port Moresby had been received by the flight crew. It required aircraft arriving at Port Moresby to conduct an ILS approach. The PIC’s last ILS proficiency check was almost 11 months before the accident flight. A 3-monthly currency on a particular instrument approach is required under PNG Civil Aviation Rule 61.807. It is likely the reason the PIC did not request a clearance to intercept the ILS from 30 nm (55.5 km) was that he did not meet the currency requirements and therefore was not authorized to fly an ILS approach. During the descent, although the PIC said to the copilot ‘we know where we are, keep it coming down’, it was evident from the recorded information that his assessment of their position was incorrect and that the descent should not have been continued. The PIC and copilot appeared to have lost situational awareness. The aircraft impacted terrain near the summit of Mt Lawes and was substantially damaged by impact forces. Both pilots and one passenger were fatally injured in the impact, and one passenger died on the day after the accident from injuries sustained during the accident. Of the five passengers who survived the accident, three were seriously injured and two received minor injuries. One of the fatally injured passengers was not wearing a seat belt.

Probable cause:

The following contributing factors were identified:
- The flight crew continued the descent in instrument meteorological conditions without confirming their position.
- The flight crew’s assessment of their position was incorrect and they had lost situational awareness
- The flight crew deprived themselves of the “Caution” and “Warning” alerts that would have sounded about 20 sec and about 10 sec respectively before the collision, by not deactivating the EGPWS Terrain Inhibit prior to departure from Woitape.

Final Report:

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