Sint Maarten-Princess Juliana

The airplane, operated by Fresh Air, Inc., crashed into a lagoon about 1 mile east of the departure end of runway 10 at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU), San Juan, Puerto Rico. The two pilots died, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces. The airplane was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1251 as a cargo flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed. The flight had departed from runway 10 at SJU destined for Princess Juliana International Airport, St. Maarten. Shortly after takeoff, the first officer declared an emergency, and then the captain requested a left turn back to SJU and asked the local air traffic controllers if they could see smoke coming from the airplane (the two tower controllers noted in postaccident interviews that they did not see more smoke than usual coming from the airplane). The controllers cleared the flight to land on runway 28, but as the airplane began to align with the runway, it crashed into a nearby lagoon (Laguna La Torrecilla). Radar data shows that the airplane was heading south at an altitude of about 520 ft when it began a descending turn to the right to line up with runway 28. The airplane continued to bank to the right until radar contact was lost. The estimated airspeed at this point was only 88 knots, 9 knots below the published stall speed for level flight and close to the 87-knot air minimum control speed. However, minimum control speeds increase substantially for a turn into the inoperative engine as the accident crew did in the final seconds of the flight. As a result, the airplane was operating close to both stall and controllability limits when radar contact was lost. Pilots flying multiengine aircraft are generally trained to shut down the engine experiencing a problem and feather that propeller; thus, the flight crew likely intended to shut down the right engine by bringing the mixture control lever to the IDLE CUTOFF position and feathering the right propeller, as called out in the Engine Fire In Flight Checklist. This would have left the flight crew with the left engine operative to return to the airport. However, postaccident examinations revealed that the left propeller was found feathered at impact, with the left engine settings consistent with the engine at takeoff or climb setting. The right engine settings were generally consistent with the engine being shut down; however, the right propeller’s pitch was consistent with a high rotation/takeoff power setting. The accident airplane was not equipped with a flight data recorder or a cockpit voice recorder (nor was it required to be so equipped); hence, the investigation was unable to determine at what point in the accident sequence the flight crew shut down the right engine and at what point they feathered the left propeller, or why they would have done so. Post accident examination of the airplane revealed fire and thermal damage to the airframe on the airplane’s right wing rear spar, nacelle aft of the power section, and in the vicinity of the junction between the augmentor assemblies and the exhaust muffler assembly. While the investigation was unable to determine the exact location of the ignition source, it appears to have been aft of the engine in the vicinity of the junction between the augmentor assemblies and exhaust muffler assembly. The investigation identified no indication of a fire in the engine proper and no mechanical failures that would have prevented the normal operation of either engine.

The flightcrew stated that approximately 8 miles out on a visual approach for runway 10 they requested winds and altimeter setting from the control tower. They received altimeter setting 29.95 inches Hg., and winds from 090 degrees at 20 knots. About 5 miles out, in full landing configuration, they checked wind conditions again, and were told 090 at 16 knots. They were holding Vref of 125 knots plus 10 knots on final. The approach was normal until they got a downdraft on short final. The airplane sank and they reacted by immediately adding engine power and increasing pitch, but the airplane continued to sink. The airplane's main landing gear came in contact with the top of the barbwire fencing at the approach end of the runway. The airplane landed short of the threshold. The airplane was under control during the roll out and they taxied to the ramp. A special weather observation was taken at the Vance W. Amory International Airport at 1930, 10 minutes after the accident. The special weather observation was winds 090 at 15 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, scattered clouds at 2,000, temperature 27 degrees centigrade, dewpoint temperature 23 degrees centigrade, altimeter setting 29.95 inches hg.

The copilot stated that the pre-flight and run-up before takeoff were performed with no discrepancies noted. After leveling off at 5,500 feet they noticed that the right engine cylinder head temperature and oil temperature was about 10 degrees above the normal parameter for that engine. Shortly after, both pilot's noticed a sharp decrease in the right engine mean effective pressure followed by vibration in the engine. The co-pilot looked at the right engine and informed the pilot that it was on fire around the front lower cylinders. Attempts by the pilot to extinguish the engine fire were unsuccessful. The pilot advised Air Traffic Control of their intention to ditch due to the right engine uncontrolled fire. The co-pilot, handed a life jacket to the pilot and then put his on. The pilot placed his life preserver to the side and did not put it on. While descending the co-pilot opened his side window, but the pilot did not. According to the co-pilot, shortly before ditching the pilot requested 10-degrees of flaps but the flaps did not move. Both pilots were at the controls of the airplane for the ditching. A review of maintenance records revealed that the right engine was installed on the airframe on May 14, 2003 at 45,660.5 hours total airframe time. A complete "C" Check was accomplished on June 15, 2004 at a total time of 45,741.8 hours with no discrepancies noted. The airplane ditched into the Caribbean Ocean 29 miles southeast of Beef Island, Virgin Islands, in an undetermined depth of water, neither the pilot or the airplane wreckage was recovered.

The aircraft departed Saint Maarten Airport on a flight to Saint-Barthélemy Airport under callsign TX1501, carrying 17 passengers and two pilots. The captain was pilot flying and the cruise level was 1,500 feet. The crew left the Sint Maarten Juliana aerodrome frequency when abeam of the island of Fourchue, the entry point of the aerodrome circuit located three nautical miles northwest of the island of Saint-Barthélemy. A few seconds later, they announced, on the Saint-Barthélemy Information frequency, that they were passing the 'Fourchue' reporting point. Shortly afterwards, they announced passing the 'Pain de Sucre' reporting point for a final approach to runway 10. That was their last communication. When the aircraft began its short final before the La Tourmente pass, several people, including the AFIS agent, saw it turn left which a steep bank angle then dive towards the ground. It crashed near a house and caught fire. All of the occupants perished, along with one person who was in the house.

During the takeoff roll, at Vr speed, the captain pulled up the control column but the airplane failed to rotate. Decision to abandon the takeoff procedure was taken and the crew initiated an emergency braking maneuver. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the airplane overran, lost its nose gear and came to rest 285 feet further. All six occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The Twin Otter was approaching Sint Maarten-Princess Juliana Airport by night when it crashed in unknown circumstances into the sea few km offshore. The aircraft was destroyed and all 13 occupants were killed.

ALM flight 980, from New York-JFK International Airport to Juliana Airport, St.Maarten, was being operated under terms of a lease agreement, utilizing an ONA aircraft and flight crew, and an ALM cabin crew. ALM 980 established radio contact with Juliana Tower and received clearance for an Automatic Direction Finding (ADF) approach to runway 09. The weather was reported as scattered clouds at 800 feet, estimated ceiling 1,000 feet broken, 5,000 feet overcast, and visibility 2 to 3 miles. The crew sighted the runway too late to land successfully on this approach, and attempted two left turn, visual circling approaches. The first circling approach was abandoned because of poor alignment with the runway again and on the second one the captain was unable to maintain the proper descent profile without reducing power and increasing the sink rate beyond acceptable limits. The captain executed a missed approach, made a low altitude return to the St. Maarten Radio Beacon, and was given clearance to St. Thomas at an assigned altitude of 4,000 feet. The fuel gauges were reported to have been acting erratically during the climb, but momentarily stabilized at 850 pounds of fuel remaining. A higher altitude was requested and a course adjustment was made for St. Croix, which was closer. Although the captain doubted the accuracy of the fuel gauge reading, he decided to descend in order to establish visual contact with the water. He also advised the purser that they were low on fuel, and to prepare the cabin for ditching. The purser made this announcement, and no other warning was given to the passengers prior to impact. The ditching site was confirmed on radar with the assistance of a PanAm flight that diverted for that purpose. Other fixed-wing aircraft orbited the area until the US Coast Guard, Navy, and Marine Corps helicopters began picking up survivors. Weather in the area during the rescue operation was estimated to be 400 to 500 feet overcast and visibility as low as three-eighths of a mile in rain. The aircraft sank in water more than 5,000 feet deep, and was not recovered.

During the takeoff roll, the twin engine aircraft went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest. The pilot, sole on board, was uninjured while the airplane owned by Robert von Grimm was damaged beyond repair.

Shortly after takeoff from Sint Maarten-Princess Juliana Airport, while climbing, one of the engine failed. The pilot reduced his altitude and completed a belly landing in a grassy area. The airplane slid for several yards and came to rest in flames. The pilot escaped uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed by fire.