Hahn

The airplane departed Hahn Airport at 0630LT on a flight to Rome-Ciampino Airport, carrying 14 passengers and a crew of 8. The first officer was the Pilot Flying on the leg whilst the captain was the Pilot Monitoring. The flight was uneventful until the approach phase at the destination airport. The aircraft established the first radio contact with Ciampino Tower, communicating that it was 9 NM from the runway and stabilised on the ILS for runway 15. The aircraft, authorized and configured for the approach, was proceeding for landing, when, at a height of 136 ft and a distance of about 300 m from the runway, the captain noticed birds on the flight trajectory. He stated "Ahi", repeated in rapid sequence. At a distance of about 100 m from the runway, the TO/GA pushbutton was activated. The first officer acknowledged: "Go around, flaps 15", setting the go around attitude. At the same time as the TO/GA was activated, the aircraft collided with a thick flock of some 90 starlings. A loud bang was heard and both engines stalled. The aircraft climbed to 173 feet and then continued to lose height, despite the nose-up command. There was a progressive speed reduction and an increase of the angle of attack until the activation of the stick shaker, which was recorded at 21 feet. The aircraft hit the ground in aerodynamic stall conditions, near taxiway AC, about half way along the total length of the runway at a vertical acceleration of 2.66g. First contact with the runway occurred with the main landing gear properly extended and with the lower part of the fuselage tail section. The left main landing gear detached from its attachment during the landing run and the lower part of the left engine nacelle came into contact with the runway. The aircraft stopped near the threshold of runway 33. The fire brigade sprayed extinguishing foam around the area where the engine nacelle had come into contact with the runway. The captain then arranged for the disembarkation of the passengers and crew using a ladder truck from the right front door, with the addition of the right rear slide, later activated and used.

While descending to Hahn Airport, the pilot encountered marginal weather conditions with limited visibility due to clouds down to 500 feet. On approach, the twin engine aircraft collided with trees and crashed about 11 km from the runway 03 threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and both occupants were killed.

The twin engine aircraft departed Aschaffenburg Airport on a training flight to Hahn with two pilots on board, one instructor and one pilot under supervision who was completing his type rating qualification. On approach to Hahn Airport runway 03 in marginal weather conditions, at an altitude of 4,350 feet and at a speed of 150 knots, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent. The rate of descent was up to 2,800 feet during the last four seconds before the aircraft crashed in an almost vertical position in a wooded area located about 9 km short of runway. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and both occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were as follow: overcast with few clouds at 200 feet, light rain possible on approach, moderate icing conditions possible in clouds, visibility one km and RVR runway 03 1,300 metres.

The aircraft left Wheelus AFB in Tripoli in the morning on a liaison flight to Hahn, near Frankfurt, with an intermediate stop at Rome-Ciampino Airport. Before departure from Rome, the crew received a basic weather bulletin and while cruising over the Alps, he encountered poor weather conditions with low clouds and snow falls. While cruising at an altitude of 8,000 feet, the airplane hit the slope of a mountain located near Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée, about 65 km north of Nice. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 20 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Edward B. Eden 1.