Geneva-Cointrin

The four engine aircraft was performing a schedule service MS771 from Cairo to Zurich with an intermediate stop in Geneva, carrying 174 passengers and a crew of 10. Following an uneventful flight from Cairo-Intl, the crew was cleared to descent for an ILS approach to Geneva-Cointrin Airport runway 23. On short final, the captain failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the right main gear struck an ILS antenna. Few seconds later, the airplane landed 35 meters short of runway threshold. While contacting the concrete runway, all three landing gear were torn off. The airplane slid on its belly for about 900 meters then made a left turn and lost its right wing before coming to rest. A fire erupted on the right side of the airplane but was quickly extinguished. All 184 occupants were evacuated, two passengers were seriously injured during the evacuation. The aircraft was destroyed.

On final approach to Sion Airport runway 26, the pilot maintained radio contacts with ATC and all seems normal on board. At low height and low speed, the airplane banked left then right, went out of control and crashed in flames in a road located in the center of the city. The airplane as well as several cars were destroyed. Few buildings were damaged. Both occupants were killed while no one on the ground was injured.

The approach to runway 15L was unstable. At an excessive speed of 150 knots, the four engine airplane landed about 800-900 meters down the runway 15L, on a wet surface. The crew failed to use all available braking systems and unable to stop within the remaining distance, the airplane overran at a speed of 40 knots, went through a perimeter fence and descended a ravine before coming to rest in flames. 20 passengers were injured while 120 other occupants escaped uninjured. Unfortunately, 14 passengers were killed. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire.

The pilot, sole on board, was completing a positioning flight from Geneva-Cointrin to Annemasse. On final approach in limited visibility, he failed to realize his altitude was too low when the airplane struck a building and crashed. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

Flight VS730 was an international charter service from Zurich to Funchal with an intermediate stop at Geneva-Cointrin Airport, Switzerland. The flight crew consisted of two captain. A new captain was in the left-hand seat and was piloting the aircraft. The second captain who was seating in the right-hand seat was acting as pilot-in-command, pilot responsible for the initiation to Funchal, route check pilot and co-pilot. Initiation of the new captain was necessary because of the difficult approach and landing at Funchal. However, this initiation ought to have been made by day. The aircraft departed Geneva at 1626LT bound for Madeira Island. At 1938 the crew contacted Madeira control, reporting Rose Point at FL330; the aircraft was cleared to leave this flight level at 1941. The crew then asked for descent instructions and received clearance to descend to FL50; it was requested to contact control again when this level was reached or when overflying the Porto Santo (PST) NDB. At 1955 the crew reported being overhead the PST at FL85. The aircraft was instructed to continue its descent to FL50, then to contact Funchal approach control. At 1957 the crew contacted Funchal approach control, which stated that runway 06 was in service and cleared the aircraft to descend to 3,500 ft, the QNH being 1014.0 mb. After being cleared for the approach the crew descended below the 720 feet permitted during circling, even though they had lost sight of the runway. The pilots, had lost sight of the runway lights at the end of the downwind leg and at the beginning of the base leg, when the aircraft was already flying below 200 feet. The radio altimeter had probably been preset to 200 feet, but the pilots did not check its indications. The aircraft touched the water surface relatively smoothly in a flat attitude, bounced then touched the water surface two additional times and came to rest 4 km short of runway 06 threshold. The center of the fuselage fractured, causing water to enter the cabin. Few passengers were able to jump into water and the airplane sank by a depth of 600 metres two minutes after final impact. 17 bodies were never recovered as well as both CVR and VFR recording systems.

The twin engine airplane departed runway 23 at Geneva-Cointrin Airport at 0903LT. During initial climb in limited visibility due to foggy conditions, the crew encountered technical problems with instruments and the airplane completed several turns at a height between 10 and 40 meters. The crew spotted a building of nine floors and elected to make an evasive manoeuvre when the airplane stalled and crashed on a railway track located in Vernier, about three km from the airport. The accident occurred about two minutes after takeoff. At the time of the accident, the horizontal visibility was 500 meters, the vertical visibility 65 meters with a runway visual range of 750 meters for runway 23.

The crew was engaged in a local training flight at Geneva-Cointrin Airport. After touchdown on runway 05, the twin engine aircraft went out of control, veered off runway to the right, crossed a taxiway and the apron until it came to rest in a work zone. Both pilots were injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

While descending to Basel Airport in marginal weather conditions at an altitude of 2,000 feet, the crew informed ATC about navigation problems and requested the permission to climb to 3,500 feet over the Homburg beacon. Due to traffic, the crew was cleared to climb to 2,500 feet only when few dozen seconds later, the aircraft disappeared from radar screens. SAR operations were quickly conducted but the wreckage was found three days later, on April 20, by a farmer in an open field located in Corban, some 25 km south of Basel Airport. The aircraft was totally destroyed upon impact and both crew members were killed.

Flight SR-306 was a scheduled international flight from Zürich to Rome, with an intermediate stop at Geneva. Dense fog was existing at the time of departure and at 0600 hours the flight was informed that the RVR was 180 m for runway 34 and 60 m for runway 16, and that there was a light northerly wind (1 to 2 kt). At 0604 hours the flight was authorized to taxi to runway 34 behind an accompanying vehicle. At 0605 the crew reported that they will taxi half way down runway 34 to inspect the fog condition and then return to takeoff position. This was done, using at times considerable engine power probably in an attempt to disperse the fog: Around 0612 hours the aircraft was back to the threshold of runway 34 and permission to takeoff was granted. The flight took off at 0613 hours and started to climb to flight level 150, its cruising altitude. Four minutes later witnesses on the ground noticed a whitish trail of smoke on the left side of the aircraft and suddenly a long flame from the left wing-root. Around 0620 hours the aircraft reached an altitude of approximately 2700 m, it then began to lose height, entered a gentle left turn loosing height more rapidly and finally went into a steep dive. Parts of the aircraft became detached and at 0621 hours a "MAYDAY" message was received. At 0622 hours the aircraft crashed into the ground on the outskirts of Dürrenäsch, at an elevation of 559 m, approximately 35 km from Zürich-Kloten Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact, causing a huge crater at the point of impact and all 80 occupants were killed, among them 43 habitants of the small village of Humlikon (200 habitants in total). Farmers specialized in milk business, they were flying to Geneva to visit a milk-farm.

The four engine aircraft was completing a flight from Geneva to Nice, carrying eight crew members and ten members of the Saudi Royal Family. While cruising by night above the Alps and along the border between France and Italy, the crew was in communication with ATC based in Aix-en-Provence and was instructed to descent to 10,000 feet when the airplane struck the slope of Mt Matto located 28 km southwest of Cuneo. The wreckage was found a day later and all 18 occupants have been killed.