Rimini

On April 30, 2016, the aircraft Fokker F27 MK50 registration marks SE-LEZ, operating Air Vallee flight number RVL233, took off from Rimini airport at 06.48 hrs with 18 passengers and 3 crew on board. During the final approach to Catania airport, with the aircraft stabilized on ILS Z RWY 08, the crew noticed that the right and left main landing gear lights were green but the nose landing gear light was amber. The crew informed the ATS (Catania APP) that they were in contact with the problem and informed them of their intention to continue the approach to perform a low pass on the runway followed by a standard missed approach procedure, in order to request a visual verification from the control tower of the actual extension of the nose gear. During the low passage, the control tower informed the crew that the nose gear was not extended despite the opening of the nose gear compartment. After the passage, all lights, including the amber light of the nose landing gear, went off. The aircraft proceeded to the INDAX point to perform a holding at an altitude of 3000 feet as agreed with ATS during which the crew applied the abnormal procedures for nose gear unsafe down after selection and alternate down procedures. Both procedures were unsuccessful and the crew declared an "emergency" informing ATS of their intention to perform a final maneuver (leveled 2G turn). The captain of the flight, who had been PNF up to that moment, took the controls as PF and executed the turn: also in this case without any positive outcome. The crew informed ATS of the situation, stating the number of passengers, the amount of fuel on board and the absence of dangerous goods. The crew decided to follow a VOR procedure for RWY26 followed by a visual approach in order to make a last low passage to check the condition of the nose gear. After this second missed approach, the aircraft was instructed to perform an ILS procedure for RWY 08. Landing took place at 09:34 hrs with the main gear properly extracted and locked, the nose gear in "up" position and the doors open. The following is a sequence of pictures taken from a video of the accident, acquired by ANSV through the Catania airport operator, in which the aircraft is seen landing with the nose landing gear not extended and touching the ground only when it reached the speed necessary to sustain it in the absence of nose landing gear support. After completion of the landing run, with the aircraft remaining in the middle of the runway, the engines were shut down and passengers and crew disembarked without further incident. Some of the passengers were transferred to the airport emergency room and subsequently some of them were sent to hospital for further examination; no passenger was reported to have sustained injuries as a result of the event.

Following a normal taxi procedure at Rome-Fiumicino Airport, the crew was at the holding point of runway 25, ready for departure. On board were 42 passengers and a crew of three. Both engines were turning at 70% torque. When the crew released the brakes, the swinging lever of the left main gear failed. The aircraft sank on its belly and stopped. All 45 occupants evacuated safely and there were no injuries. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The aircraft was chartered by the Dutch Air Force (Koninklijke Luchtmacht) to fly the Dutch Air Force's brass band from Italy back to the Netherlands. The transport plane arrived at Verona-Villafranca at 13:33. Forty passengers boarded the plane and at 15:04 the Hercules took off from Villafranca for a short flight to Rimini, where it landed at 15:31. Three passengers deplaned at Rimini and the Hercules was back in the air at 15:55 heading for Eindhoven. The Hercules descended into Eindhoven and contacted Eindhoven Tower at 18:00. Eindhoven Tower cleared the flight for the approach: "Okay, you may continue descent for 1000, as number one in traffic, for a direct final course runway 04, QNH 1027." After reported the runway in sight, the Hercules was cleared to land: "610 is cleared to land runway 04, the wind from 360° 10 knots." Possibly as a result of the presence of a large number of birds near the runway, the copilot initiated a go around. Birds were ingested by both left hand engines (n°1 and 2), causing both engines to lose power. For reasons unknown the crew shut down engine n°3 and feathered the propeller. The plane then turned left and crashed off the left side of the runway. Within seconds a fire erupted which was fed by the oxygen from the airplane's oxygen system. Some emergency exits in the main cabin were unreachable because of the fire while other exits could not be opened because of twisting of the fuselage. The fact that there were a large number of passengers on board the plane was not immediately clear tot the fire fighters. It took some 23 minutes before passengers were noted in the main cabin.

En route, one of the engine failed. The pilot reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed on highway Bologna - Rimini. Both occupants were killed.

Following an uneventful flight from Frankfurt, the crew started the descent to Rimini Airport when, at an altitude of 5,000 feet, the left engine lost power. The crew shut down the engine, feathered the propeller and continued the approach. At an altitude of 1,500 feet, the right engine lost power as well. The captain decided to attempt an emergency landing in a field located one km short of runway 13. On touchdown, the airplane lost its undercarriage and right wing before coming to rest. Eight passengers were uninjured while 25 other occupants were injured. A female passenger was killed.