London-Gatwick

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

London - Kano - Lagos

MSN:

18825

YOM:

1964

Location:

Kano

Country:

Nigeria

Region:

Africa

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The descent to Kano-Mallam Aminu Kano Airport was completed by night and marginal weather conditions due to a sand storm. On short final, the aircraft was too low, struck the ground and crashed near military barracks located 3,2 km short of runway 06 threshold. All four occupants were rescued while the aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire. At the time of the accident, the runway 06 ILS and DME systems were inoperative.

Crash of a Boeing 707-338C in Rome: 33 killed

Date & Time: Oct 17, 1988 at 0030 LT

Type of aircraft:

Boeing 707

Operator:

Registration:

5X-UBC

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Rome-Fiumicino-Leonardo da Vinci

Schedule:

London - Rome - Entebbe

MSN:

19630

YOM:

1968

Flight number:

QU775

Location:

Lazio

Country:

Italy

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

8365

Copilot / Total flying hours:

2202

Aircraft flight hours:

58098

Aircraft flight cycles:

17363

Circumstances:

Uganda Airlines flight 775, a Boeing 707-338C, took off from London-Gatwick Airport, United Kingdom, at 2110LT on a flight to Rome-Fiumicino Airport, Italy and Entebbe, Uganda. During the descent to Rome, clearance was received for a descent to 4,000 feet in preparation for an ILS approach to runway 16L. Visibility was deteriorating with RVR values of 400 meters (point Alfa), 1,000 meters (point Bravo) and 350 meters (point Charlie). A missed approach procedure was carried out at 0005. A second approach was attempted, this time to runway 25. This was also abandoned due to poor visibility. RVR values for runway 34L (1,600 m, 2,000 m and 150 meters respectively. At Alfa, Bravo and Charlie made the crew request radar vectoring to runway 34L. The aircraft was established on the localizer at 0028. The aircraft continued to descend below the 420 feet MDA, although the runway visual markings hadn't been located. Because the flight crew failed to use the altitude callouts, the GPWS sounded unexpectedly. The right wing collided with the roof of a car rental agency located 1,300 meters short of the runway, 100 meters to the right of the extended centreline. The aircraft continued and crashed 500 meters further, bursting into flames. 33 occupants were killed, among them all seven crew members, while 19 passengers were injured.

Probable cause:

The crew's lack of adequate preparation in the procedure for a Non Precision Approach on runway 34L at Fiumicino Airport, especially in the matter of crew coordination and altitude callouts and their continued descent beyond MDA without having located the runway visual markings.
Besides, the following factors may have contributed to the cause of the accident:
1) Presumed mental and physical fatigue, accumulated by the crew during the two previous landing approaches, which were also carried out in an environmental situation that was extremely unfavourable and operationally demanding.;
2) A configuration of the Altitude Instruments, which although sufficient for the approaches that were carried out, consisted of a single radio altimeter with the acoustic warning of the MDA crossing inoperative;
3) The attention of the crew was excessively concentrated on the luminous sources along runway 34L, instead of on the instrument readings.
Furthermore (...) part of the Board of Inquiry as well as the representative of the Ugandan CA, disassociated themselves from the majority, during the phase of identifying the factors that may have contributed to causing the accident.

Ground accident of a Sud-Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III in Milan

Date & Time: Jul 2, 1983

Type of aircraft:

Sud-Aviation SE-210 Caravelle

Operator:

Registration:

F-BHRS

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Milan - London

MSN:

YOM:

1960

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

During the takeoff roll at Milan-Malpensa Airport runway 17R, at a speed of 75-80 knots, the right engine failed, exploded and caught fire. The captain abandoned the takeoff procedure, initiated an emergency braking maneuver and vacated runway via intersection 8 before stopping the aircraft by the fire brigade building. All 89 occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

The uncontained failure of the right engine during takeoff roll was the consequence of the disintegration of the 14th stage of the high pressure compressor.

Crash of an Avro 748-108-2A in Nailstone: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jun 26, 1981 at 1811 LT

Type of aircraft:

Avro 748

Operator:

Registration:

G-ASPL

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Londres-Gatwick – East Midlands

MSN:

1560

YOM:

1964

Flight number:

DA240

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

8418

Captain / Total hours on type:

1393.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

5611

Copilot / Total hours on type:

1711

Aircraft flight hours:

34592

Circumstances:

The aircraft was engaged on a mail flight from London-Gatwick Airport to East Midlands Airport. During the initial descent in preparation for landing at its destination, the attendant in the cabin reported that the mechanical indicators on one of the cabin doors were showing an unlocked condition. Shortly afterwards the right hand rear door (baggage door) came open, detached from its hinge mountings and became lodged on the leading edge of the right horizontal tailplane. The aircraft became uncontrollable and went into an increasingly steep dive which terminated in several abrupt pitch oscillations. Both the mainplanes and the horizontal tailplanes were subjected to overstressing in upload which resulted in their detachment from the fuselage. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all three crew members were killed.

Probable cause:

The accident was caused by the baggage door becoming lodged on the leading edge of the right tailplane after it had opened and detached in flight. This produced changes in the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft which rendered it uncontrollable resulting in overstressing of the wings and tailplane leading to an in-flight structural failure. A contributory factor was the mis-rigged state of the door operating mechanism which allowed the top and the bottom pairs of claw catches to lose synchronisation. The failure of the door warning arrangements to give adequate warning of door safety was a further contributory factor.

Final Report:

Crash of a Learjet 23 in Innsbruck: 2 killed

Date & Time: Aug 28, 1972 at 1306 LT

Type of aircraft:

Learjet 23

Operator:

Vodavia

Registration:

HB-VAM

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Positioning

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

London - Innsbruck

MSN:

23-044

YOM:

1965

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

While approaching Innsbruck-Kranebitten Airport in limited visibility, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when the airplane struck trees and crashed on a mountain located few km from the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots were killed.

Probable cause:

Controlled flight into terrain.

Crash of a Vickers VC-10-1109 at London-Gatwick

Date & Time: Jan 28, 1972

Type of aircraft:

Vickers VC-10

Operator:

Registration:

G-ARTA

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Positioning

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

London-Heathrow - London-Gatwick

MSN:

803

YOM:

1962

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was completing a positioning flight from Heathrow to Gatwick. After touchdown on runway 08, the pilot selected spoilers and reverse thrust when the airplane became airborne again then landed back heavily and bounced twice. The fuselage was bent just prior to the wings, a tyre on the nose wheel burst and a wheel separated. The aircraft rolled for several hundred meters before coming to rest. All four crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-134A in Rijeka: 78 killed

Date & Time: May 23, 1971 at 2000 LT

Type of aircraft:

Tupolev TU-134

Operator:

Registration:

YU-AHZ

Flight Phase:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador

Schedule:

London-Gatwick – Rijeka

MSN:

1 35 12 05

YOM:

1971

Flight number:

JJ130

Location:

Rijeka

Primorje-Gorski Kotar

Country:

Croatia

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

9230

Captain / Total hours on type:

138.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

2563

Copilot / Total hours on type:

899

Aircraft flight hours:

111

Aircraft flight cycles:

Circumstances:

The aircraft departed London-Gatwick Airport on a charter flight (JJ130) to Rijeka, Croatia, carrying 76 British tourists and a crew of seven. While approaching runway 14 at Rijeka Airport, the crew encountered very bad weather conditions with cumulonimbus, heavy rain falls and turbulences. As the aircraft passed through the area, it was carried upwards and rolled to the right. The aircraft was now above the ILS glide slope. Some 800 meters short of the runway, at a height of 60 meters, the crew decided to continue the approach. Power was reduced and the angle of descent increased to 10°. The aircraft struck the runway surface with its right main gear at a speed of 260 km/h with 4 g deceleration force. On impact, the right wing was torn off, the airplane slid for about 760 meters and came to rest upside down, in flames. Three crew members and 75 passengers were killed. Brand new, the aircraft was totally destroyed.

Probable cause:

It is considered that the probable main cause of the accident was a heavy landing on the right leg of the main landing gear, emphasised by an irregular position of the wheels and 0.7% slope up of the runway at the point of touchdown. The Commission consider that the described deviation from the flight technique in itself, did not cause the crash of the aircraft, but that loading which resulted from the conditions under which the landing was performed made a greater contribution to the crash. However, non-adequate handling of controls of the aircraft and engines could be explained only by false perceptions (illusions) of the crew concerning the aircraft position in respect to the runway. The last minute of the flight was analysed on the basis of:
- Flight recorder oscillogram,
- Results obtained during the investigation on the flight on board of the same type of aircraft,
- Study of aerodynamic characteristics and stability of TU-134A - analysis of meteorological situation,
- Analysis of crew members' statement.
According to the opinion of the Commission this was an exceptional and complex case of many unfavourable circumstances which resulted in this catastrophe.

Final Report:

Crash of an Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador 2 in London-Gatwick

Date & Time: Jul 26, 1969

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

G-ALZR

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site: