Germany | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

While in cruising level over Germany on a positioning flight from Rotterdam to Thessaloniki, the right engine failed and its propeller feathered automatically. The crew informed ATC and started a descent in an order to divert to the nearest airport. While descending, the power was restored on the right engine but it failed again. Once the altitude of 6,000 feet was reached on descent, the left engine failed as well. The crew reduced his altitude and completed a belly landing in an open field located near Niedernberg. Both pilots escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

It is believed that the double engine failure was the consequence of a contaminated fuel.

Crash of a Fokker F27 Friendship 600 in Hanover: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 26, 1988 at 2225 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fokker F27 Friendship

Operator:

Registration:

OY-APE

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Roskilde – Billund – Hanover – Cologne

MSN:

10443

YOM:

1970

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

21120

Aircraft flight cycles:

23047

Circumstances:

On a night approach to Hanover-Langenhagen Airport, the aircraft was unstable. The crew initiated a go-around procedure when the aircraft stalled and crashed short of runway 09R. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that cargo shifted at the time the crew initiated a go-around procedure. At that time, flaps were down at 11° instead of 26°.

Crash of a Piper PA-46-310P Malibu in Hamburg: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 9, 1988 at 1525 LT

Type of aircraft:

Piper PA-46 (Malibu/Meridian/Mirage/Matrix/M-Class)

Operator:

Jochen Pemöller

Registration:

D-EIHR

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Private

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Lemwerder - Hamburg

MSN:

46-8408054

YOM:

1984

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The single engine aircraft departed Lemwerder Airtport at 1457LT bound to the northeast with five passengers and one pilot on board. While on approach to Hamburg-Finkenwerder Airport, the pilot initiated a go-around when he lost control of the airplane that crashed on the ground. Two occupants were killed and four others were injured.

Crash of a Swearingen SA227AC Metro III in Kettwig: 21 killed

Date & Time: Feb 8, 1988 at 0758 LT

Type of aircraft:

Swearingen SA227 Metro III

Operator:

Registration:

D-CABB

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Hanover - Düsseldorf

MSN:

AC-500

YOM:

1982

Flight number:

NS108

Location:

Kettwig

North Rhine-Westphalia

Country:

Germany

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

2473

Captain / Total hours on type:

277.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

2544

Copilot / Total hours on type:

1344

Aircraft flight hours:

9184

Circumstances:

The twin engine aircraft departed Hanover Airport at 0715LT on a schedule service to Düsseldorf Airport, carrying 19 passengers and a crew of two. Following an uneventful flight at FL140, the crew started the descent at 0739LT. After being cleared to descend to 3,000 feet, the crew was informed about thunderstorm activity in the area and ATC informed the crew about a possible alternate route to avoid the area. This offer was denied by the crew who continued the descent. While flying in thunderstorm activity, the aircraft became unstable due to turbulences and lightnings strikes near the aircraft. After the failure of the electrical system, the crew lost control of the airplane that entered a dive, partially disintegrated in the air and eventually crashed in an open field located about 2 km north of Kettwig, near the airport of Essen-Mülheim. All 21 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The accident was caused by the combination of the followings:
- The flight crew had continued into an area in which the occurrence of electrical discharge was to be expected, although avoiding the area would have been possible,
- The total electricity supply failed due to a lightning strike in significant instrument flight conditions, causing the failure of the cockpit- and instrument lighting and making it impossible to use the flaps and stabilizer trim,
- The plane had entered a largely uncontrolled flight after the power failure,
- The aircraft became overloaded during the uncontrolled flight aircraft during and disintegrated.
The following contributing factors were reported:
- The crew did not agree on the flight path in the area of the thunderstorm,
- The crew were not prepared for a lightning strike,
- The crew possibly became physically and mentally impaired for a short time after the lightning strike,
- The crew could not understand each other for a short time after a short power failure because they wore headsets,
- When the lightning struck, the plane was in an unstabilized flight condition with nose trimmed down and flaps half way down,
- The crew was not able to restore power, probably because of the damage in the electrical wiring,
- The crew did not have sufficient means for orientation in order to transfer the plane back from a predominantly uncontrolled flight to controlled flight.

Crash of a Beechcraft F90 King Air in Düsseldorf: 4 killed

Date & Time: Dec 6, 1987

Type of aircraft:

Beechcraft 90 King Air

Operator:

W. H. Hoffmann

Registration:

D-IMWH

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Private

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Munich - Marl

MSN:

LA-114

YOM:

1981

Location:

Düsseldorf-Lohausen

North Rhine-Westphalia

Country:

Germany

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

While approaching Marl Airport, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions and decided to divert to Düsseldorf-Lohausen Airport. For unknown reason, the pilot was unable to locate the airport, and while initiating a go-around procedure, he lost control of the aircraft that crashed near the airport. All four occupants were killed.

Crash of a Cessna 404 Titan in Grosser Feldberg: 1 killed

Date & Time: Aug 29, 1987

Type of aircraft:

Cessna 404 Titan

Operator:

Cologne Commercial Flight

Registration:

D-ILEP

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Positioning

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

MSN:

404-0688

YOM:

1980

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

While cruising in poor visibility due to heavy fog, the pilot failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the twin engine aircraft struck an observation tower located on the Grosser Feldberg (881 meters high) located in the Taunus Mountain Range, about 22 km north of Frankfurt-Main Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot, sole on board, was killed.

Crash of a Piper PA-31T-620 Cheyenne II in Munich: 9 killed

Date & Time: Aug 11, 1987 at 1528 LT

Type of aircraft:

Piper PA-31 Cheyenne

Operator:

Lechmetall Landsberg

Registration:

D-ILRA

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site:

City

Schedule:

Landsberg - Munich

MSN:

31-8020009

YOM:

1980

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The twin engine aircraft departed Landsberg-Penzing Airport on a training flight to Munich, carrying one passenger (a secretary of the Southern Bavarian Air Office), one instructor and one pilot. On final approach to Munich-Riem Airport runway 07, at an altitude of 200 feet, the instructor decided to reduce the power on the right engine while the pilot was expecting to initiate a go-around procedure according to the training program. He elected to add power on the left engine but the aircraft lost height, struck the roof of a McDonald's restaurant located in the district of Trudering and eventually crashed in flames on a bus. The aircraft, the restaurant, the bus and several other vehicles were destroyed and seven people were killed, all three occupants in the aircraft and four passengers in the bus. Few days later, two other victims died from their injuries. 30 other people were injured, some of them seriously.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the instructor's decision to reduce power was taken at a critical stage of flight because the aircraft was approaching at a too low altitude of 200 feet and flying vertical to a populated area. Also, the pilot was expecting to initiate a go-around according to the training program.

Crash of a Cessna 501 Citation I in Lübeck: 3 killed

Date & Time: May 30, 1987

Type of aircraft:

Cessna 501 Citation I

Operator:

Travel Air Flug

Registration:

D-IAEC

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Cologne - Lübeck

MSN:

501-0203

YOM:

1981

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft departed Cologne-Bonn Airport on a charter taxi flight to Lübeck-Blankensee, carrying two passengers, among them the Vice-President of the Land of Schleswig-Holstein Uwe Barschel and a crew of two. The approach to Lübeck-Blankensee Airport was initiated in marginal weather conditions with limited visibility to 1,500 meters and a ceiling down to 150 meters. ILS approach was not possible so the crew attempted to land under VFR mode. On final, the aircraft struck the NDB antenna (15 meters high) located 480 meters short of runway threshold. The aircraft rolled to the left to an angle of 90°, causing the left wing to struck the ground. Out of control, the aircraft crashed then slid for few dozen meters and came to rest, bursting into flames. Uwe Barschel was the only survivor. The copilot, Elizabeth Friske, was at command when the Pan International BAc 111 crashed in Hamburg on September 6, 1971.

Crash of a Partenavia P.68 in Mönchengladbach

Date & Time: Feb 13, 1987

Type of aircraft:

Partenavia P.68

Operator:

Registration:

D-GINI

Flight Type:

Private

MSN:

YOM:

1975

Location:

Mönchengladbach

North Rhine-Westphalia

Country:

Germany

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crashed in unknown circumstances. Occupant fate unknown.

Crash of a Swearingen SA226AT Merlin IVA in Munich

Date & Time: Feb 5, 1987 at 0824 LT

Type of aircraft:

Swearingen SA226AT Merlin IV

Operator:

Registration:

D-IEWK

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Dortmund - Munich

MSN:

AT-042

YOM:

1975

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

5606

Captain / Total hours on type:

880.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

2580

Copilot / Total hours on type:

200

Aircraft flight hours:

6282

Circumstances:

On approach to Munich-Riem Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and limited visibility due to low clouds and fog. On final approach, the crew descended below the MDA until the aircraft struck the runway surface. Upon impact, the undercarriage were torn off and the aircraft slid on its belly for about 300 meters before coming to rest. All 14 occupants escapes with minor injuries and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

Wrong approach configuration on part of the crew who failed to adhere to published procedures and failed to follow the approach checklist. The crew decided to continue the approach after passing the MDA without establishing visual contact with the runway. The following findings were reported:
- Poor flight preparation,
- Poor approach planning,
- The crew was not properly certified to fly in such conditions,
- Poor visibility (below minimums),
- The crew failed to initiate a go-around maneuver.

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