Cessna 208A Caravan

After takeoff from Estancia Las Cruces Airport, while climbing in foggy conditions, the aircraft lost height and impacted ground in a wooded area located about 3 km from the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot, sole on board, was killed.

At 0916 Pacific standard time, the Seair Cessna 208 Caravan amphibious aircraft, serial number 20800310, took off from runway 19 at Abbotsford Airport, British Columbia, on the first leg of a private flight to the Bahamas. One pilot and five passengers were on board. About one minute later, as the aircraft was climbing through an altitude of about 400 feet above ground level and as the pilot retracted flaps from 10 to zero degrees, the aircraft became uncontrollable. The aircraft banked left, descended rapidly, and crashed in a field about one-half mile south of the runway threshold, in a left bank with a near-level pitch attitude. The aircraft was destroyed, and the pilot received serious injuries. Two passengers were also seriously injured, and three passengers received minor injuries. Daylight visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. There was no fire.

Few minutes after takeoff from João Pessoa-Presidente Castro Pinto Airport, while on a cargo flight to Recife, the crew reported engine problems and elected to return. Unable to maintain a safe altitude, the crew attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft struck trees and crashed near a motorway. Both pilots were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Shortly after a night takeoff from runway 24 at Nairobi-Jomo Kenyatta Airport, the single engine aircraft went out of control and crashed near the runway end. All four occupants were killed. The aircraft was completing a flight to Dar es Salaam on behalf of DHL. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were marginal with strong wind and fog.

With an auxiliary fuel tank system installed, the pilot filled the tanks and departed. A few minutes later, he noticed fuel on the floor of the cabin, and tried to reach an airport. However, the fuel fumes were so strong he elected to land in an open field. After touchdown, the airplane passed through a ditch the pilot had not observed from the air. The nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over. An airborne witness reported the pilot exited the airplane after about 5 minutes, and about 5 minutes later, the airplane caught fire and burned. The post crash fire consumed the cabin. In an interview, the pilot reported that he had not initiated use of the auxiliary fuel tank system when the accident occurred. He also reported he could not see where the fuel was coming from. The investigation revealed the tank installation did not match the FAA Form 337, the instructions for use of the ferry tank system were inadequate, and the pilot had reported that the auxiliary fuel pumps were secured to a board which was not secured to the airplane.

After takeoff from Jumla Airport, en route to Nepalgunj, the single engine aircraft climbed to a height of 450 feet when it rolled to the left, entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a field near the airport. One pilot and four passengers were killed while seven other occupants were injured.

A float-equipped Cessna Caravan, 5N-PAN, departed Lagos (LOS) on a chartered flight to Warri with a scheduled stop-over at Lekki. The aircraft was airborne at 07:34 hours UTC and was cleared to 1,000 feet by Lagos Tower and landed at Lekki at 07:42 hours UTC. At 08:20 hours UTC, the aircraft departed Lekki and called Lagos Approach which cleared it to 3,500 feet with further instructions for the aircraft to report at TMA. The aircraft reported at TMA and continued its normal flight at 3,500 feet. On contact with Escravos Tower, it requested for a descent from 3,500 feet to 700 feet in order to overfly the Chevron facility at Opuekaba for an aerial inspection. After the inspection, the aircraft was cleared to 2,500 feet to resume its normal flight to Warri. The pilot made an outbound turn to line up for the final approach to runway 03. At about five nm DME from Warri the pilot chose to reduce speed to 120 knots and he selected gear down with flap 15°. At three nautical miles out, the aircraft was about 900 feet high above the approach path, and cleared to land. The aircraft was now configured for landing with flap at 30° and the pilot reduced the speed to between 85 and 90 knots. At about 1.5 miles out, the aircraft was between 350 - 400 feet high, gliding with 400 lb of torque, the pilot felt a small shudder from the engine which was instantaneously followed by a need for power input, so he advanced the throttle but there was no response from the engine. He quickly retracted the flaps and feathered the propeller. Then the pilot re-selected flap 30° and also unfeathered the propeller which restored the engine to full torque. The pilot decided to abandon the approach mainly because of the a building structure ahead, close to the runway threshold. The pilot chose to veer the airplane to the left of the approach path centerline and ditched into the swampy terrain, cutting through some scattered trees and shrubbery.

The crew was completing a survey flight along the Peru - Brazil border when the single engine aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances. All five occupants were rescued.

The pilot departed in visual meteorological conditions of three to four miles visibility with high ceilings. He stated the airplane encountered freezing rain about five miles south of the airport while in cruise flight at 1,200 feet msl, and rapidly accumulated ice on the airframe, wings, and windshield. The pilot said he initially changed altitude in an attempt to exit the icing conditions. Ice accumulation continued, so he elected to return. While maneuvering to land at the airport, the airplane was unable to maintain altitude at full engine power. He said that any angle of bank resulted in the onset of pre stall buffet, so he decided to land on a frozen lake south of the airport. He said that the airplane did not reach the lake, 'mushed into the ground,' and during the flare/touchdown, the left wing stalled. The pilot did not have access to the official weather prior to departure. The National Weather Service contracted observer, made his observation from a location about five miles south of the official weather station at the airport. The FAA AWOS-3 was inoperative. Examination of the airplane after the accident revealed a 1/2 inch layer of clear ice covering all the upper and lower airfoil surfaces of the airplane, from leading edges to between 1/3 and 1/2 of the chords. All antennas were coated with approximately 1/2 inch of clear ice. The airplane was not equipped with ice protection equipment except for pitot heat and windshield heat.