Mountains

The airport's instrument approach procedures included a very high frequency, omnidirectional range (VOR) approach, and a global positioning system (GPS) approach that was not an overlay. The VOR approach procedure included an inbound course to the VOR, and after passage, a descent along the same course to a missed approach point. The missed approach point was defined as 6 nautical miles beyond the VOR, as well as by timing. The pilot twice attempted the VOR approach in instrument meteorological conditions. He flew the first approach to the missed approach point, initiated a missed approach, contacted the controller, and requested a second VOR approach. He then received vectors to rejoin the approach course inbound to the VOR. The airplane subsequently passed over the VOR, on course, about 100 feet above the minimum altitude. However, instead of descending as described in the procedure, the airplane maintained that altitude until reaching the airport, then began a descent. The airplane continued to travel outbound along the same approach course until it impacted rising terrain about 6.5 miles beyond the airport. There was no dedicated distance measuring equipment (DME) onboard the airplane. Instead, distance was determined by the use of an instrument flight rules (IFR)-approved GPS unit. Due to the non-storage capability of the unit, historical waypoint selection could not be determined. The pilot could have selected the airport as a "direct to" waypoint, or, if he had entered flight plan waypoints, the unit would have sequenced from the VOR to the airport during the first approach. In either case, unless the pilot reprogrammed the unit, the last waypoint entered would have remained at the airport, rather than the VOR. The pilot then most likely mistook the airport position for the VOR position, and displaced the beginning of the descent by 6 nautical miles. Also noted, was that once the airplane passed over the VOR en route to the airport, the HSI would have indicated a change of "to" to "from". There were no medical anomalies noted with the pilot and no mechanical anomalies noted with the airplane.

While descending to Bukavu-Kamembe Airport, the crew encountered stormy weather with limited visibility due to rain falls. Too low, the twin engine aircraft impacted trees and crashed on hilly and wooded terrain located about 15 km from Bukavu Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all 17 occupants were killed.

Few minutes after takeoff from Goma Airport, en route to Kisangani, the crew informed ATC about engine problem and was cleared to return to Goma for an emergency landing. Shortly later, the aircraft lost height, hit trees and crashed in hilly terrain located near Sake, about 20 km northwest of Goma. The aircraft was destroyed and all 6 occupants were killed.

The aircraft departed from Pemberton Airport, British Columbia, at about 1500 Pacific daylight time on a visual flight rules flight to Edmonton, Alberta. The aircraft initially climbed out to the east and subsequently turned northeast to follow a mountain pass route. The pilot was alone on this aircraft repositioning flight. The pilot had been conducting air quality surveys for Environment Canada’s Air Quality Research Section in the Pemberton area. The aircraft was operating on a flight permit and was highly modified to accept various types of probes in equipment pods suspended under the wings, a camera hatch type provision in the centre belly area, and carried internal electronic equipment. About 30 minutes after the aircraft took off, the Coastal Fire Service responded to a spot fire and discovered the aircraft wreckage in the fire zone. A post-crash fire consumed most of the airframe, and the pilot was fatally injured. The accident occurred at about 1506 Pacific daylight time.

The single engine aircraft was leased by a regional Turkish operator to perform a flight from Izmir to Adana with 4 pilots and 2 engineers from the Moldovan Company. En route, the crew encountered bad weather conditions with limited visibility due to heavy rain falls, and elected to make an emergency landing. The aircraft crash landed in a hilly terrain located near Göktepe. All 6 occupants were slightly injured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

While cruising at an altitude of 6,700 feet in marginal weather conditions, the crew started the descent to Caracas-Maiquetía-Simón Bolívar and descended to 5,000 feet when the aircraft struck trees and crashed on the slope of a mountain located near the village of El Cedrito, about 29 km southwest of the airport. The wreckage was found two day later, in the morning of May 7. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all five occupants were killed.

The single engine aircraft departed Goma on a humanitarian flight to Bunia, carrying one passenger, two pilots and a load consisting of 300 kilos of various goods on behalf of the World Food Programme. En route, the crew decided to follow a direct route via GPS instead of the one mentioned on the flight plan. While cruising at an altitude of 12,500 feet in poor weather conditions, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Margherita (5,109 metres high) located in the Ruwenzori Mountain Range, western Uganda. The wreckage was found two days later and all three occupants were killed.

The twin engine aircraft departed Moi Air Base in Nairobi on a flight to Marsabit, carrying a delegation of the Kenyan Government including two ministers. They were flying to Marsabit as part of a mediation mission between communities in dispute, in particular over grazing rights and water points. On approach to Marsabit Airport, the crew encountered poor visibility due to low clouds when the aircraft crashed on the slope of a hill located few km from the airport. Three passengers were seriously injured while 14 other occupants were killed.

The twin engine aircraft departed Macaé Airport at 1719LT on a flight to Rio de Janeiro-Santos Dumont Airport with 17 passengers and two pilots on board. Few minutes later, the copilot cancelled the IFR flight plan and continued under VFR mode at an altitude of 4,500 feet. Approaching São Pedro da Aldeia, the copilot was cleared to descend to 2,000 feet to avoid poor weather conditions. Later, while approaching Saquarema, the crew initiated a left turn to avoid clouds when shortly later, at an altitude of 1,920 feet, the aircraft struck the Pedra Bonita Peak. The wreckage was found six km southeast of Rio Bonito in a dense wooded area. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 19 occupants were killed.

On Friday 31 March 2006 the pilot intended to carry out topdressing on properties near a steep hill range nine kilometres to the south-west of Kaitaia. The day’s activities commenced at approximately 0600 hours when the pilot and loaderdriver met at Kaitaia aerodrome. The pilot and loader-driver flew in the aircraft from the aerodrome to a farm airstrip located on the back of a hill range near the Pukepoto Quarry where the fertiliser-loading truck had been parked overnight. The topdressing operation began in the morning with spreading approximately 25 tonnes of superphosphate on nearby farmland which was stored in the fertiliser bins next to the airstrip. As the last of the superphosphate was being spread, a consignment of fresh lime was delivered by a trucking contractor. The topdressing operation continued with the spreading of the lime on another property near the base of the hill range, about three kilometres from the airstrip. At around 1000 hours, while waiting on another delivery of lime by the trucking contractor, the pilot and loader-driver flew in the aircraft to another airstrip about 20 km to the south-east near Broadwood. They repositioned a fertiliser-loading truck located at this airstrip to another airstrip near Pawarenga, in anticipation of the next day’s topdressing. The pilot and loader-driver then flew back to the original farm airstrip near the Pukepoto Quarry, arriving at approximately 1100 hours. At about this time the pilot received a cell phone call from his supervising Chief Pilot. During the conversation he asked the Chief Pilot for his advice about the best direction for spreading lime on the land that he was currently working on. The pilot also commented about how the lime was ‘hanging up’ and not flowing easily from the aircraft’s hopper. The Chief Pilot cautioned the pilot about the poor flow properties of new lime and advised him to spread the lime in line with the hill range, not up the slope. The topdressing operation then resumed until all the lime in the fertiliser bin had been used. The pilot and loader-driver then stopped for lunch during which time the aircraft was refuelled and another truckload of lime was delivered. The pilot had commented to the loader-driver during lunch that the lime was still hanging up in the aircraft’s hopper. He was finding that he needed to complete about two passes to clear the entire load from the hopper. Just before starting the afternoon’s topdressing flights, the pilot had a conversation on his cell phone with a bank manager in Auckland. The conversation concerned the financial position of his topdressing business. The loader-driver reported that the pilot became very agitated during the conversation, but appeared to calm down prior to beginning the afternoon’s flying. The farm-owner observed the aircraft on its first flight of the afternoon as it completed the first two passes. He was aware that the aircraft had flown further away after these two passes and assumed the aircraft was returning to the airstrip for a second load of lime. He did not notice anything abnormal about the aircraft. Other witnesses reported that the aircraft flew parallel with a plantation of 30-40 metre high trees towards the rising hill range. The closest eye witness reported seeing what appeared to be fertiliser dropping from the aircraft as it flew along the tree line up the slope. The dropping of the fertiliser then stopped at which point the aircraft was seen entering a steep right hand turn away from the slope whilst descending towards the ground. The aircraft disappeared in to tall bush on the hillside and witnesses heard the aircraft impact the ground. A large smoke-like cloud was then seen rising up through the bush. On hearing the impact, the farm-owner and a local share-milker from a nearby farm searched the hillside for the aircraft. The aircraft was obscured by the tall bush and was initially difficult to locate. The share-milker made his way down the hillside through the bush to the aircraft. He quickly realised that the pilot was deceased. The farmer-owner went to alert the emergency services, however another property owner who had heard the aircraft strike the ground and seen the smoke had already telephoned the New Zealand Police. The accident occurred in daylight, at approximately 1345 hours NZDT, 9 km south-west of Kaitaia at an elevation of 880 feet AMSL. Latitude: S 35° 10' 26.1", longitude: E 173° 11' 29.4"; grid reference: NZMS 260 N05 283698.