Crash of a De Havilland DHC-4A Caribou in Simanggang
Date & Time:
Nov 29, 1980
Operator:
Registration:
M21-12
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Balikpapan - Kuching
MSN:
280
YOM:
1969
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
En route from Balikpapan to Kuching, a warning light came on in the cockpit panel, indicating a low oil pressure on the left engine. The crew shut down the left engine and feathered its propeller. Due to bad weather in Kuching, the captain decided to divert to Simanggang where the airplane landed safely on one engine. After touchdown, the airplane decelerated and the pilot-in-command completed a 180 turn then a backtrack procedure when one of the landing gear went into a soft ground along the runway edge. After the left engine oil tank was filled, the crew took off for Kuching. After liftoff, during initial climb, a warning light came on in the cockpit panel, indicating a technical problem with the feathering system on the right engine. The airplane started to roll left and right then lost height and crashed in a jungle located 1,400 meters past the runway end. The aircraft was totally destroyed upon impact and all three crew members were injured.
