Crash of a Rockwell Aero Commander 560F in the Gulf of Mexico

Date & Time: Jan 23, 1981 at 1345 LT
Operator:
Registration:
N4385
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Homestead - Homestead
MSN:
560-1213-47
YOM:
1962
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
1915
Captain / Total hours on type:
29.00
Circumstances:
The aircraft departed Homestead, Florida, on a test flight. While flying over the Gulf of Mexico, the pilot reported severe electrical storm. He became lost and disoriented so he decided to ditch the airplane about 375 miles southeast of Brownsville, Texas. The aircraft sank and was lost while both occupants were rescued.
Probable cause:
The pilot became lost and disoriented after encountering severe electrical storm in flight.
Final Report:

Crash of a Cessna 402A in the Atlantic Ocean: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jan 19, 1981
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
C-GDTW
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Goose Bay - Keflavik
MSN:
402A-0037
YOM:
1979
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
While on a ferry flight from Goose Bay to Keflavik, the twin engine airplane crashed in unknown circumstances in the North Atlantic Ocean. Both occupants were killed.

Crash of a Breguet Bre.1150 Atlantic in the Atlantic Ocean: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 15, 1981 at 1030 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
255
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Valkenburg - Valkenburg
MSN:
62
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
8
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Valkenburg Airbase and was engaged in a maritime patrol flight over the Atlantic, shadowing a Soviet 'Kiev Class' Navy ship. En route, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with blizzard, low visibility, turbulences, strong winds and 30 feet waves. At 0958, the crew declared an emergency and was forced to ditch the aircraft about 185 km west of the Hebrides Islands. The crew of a RAF Sea King arrived on scene about two hours later and was able to evacuate nine injured people while three others were killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the airplane suffered control problems following the failure of a control rod in the horizontal stabilizer.

Crash of an Alekseev KM in the Caspian Sea

Date & Time: Dec 15, 1980
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
08 White
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
01
YOM:
1963
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed while taking off from the Caspian Sea on a test flight. There were no casualties.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-35-DK in the Mediterranean Sea: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 3, 1980
Registration:
ECT-025
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Madrid - Perpignan - Frankfurt
MSN:
13375
YOM:
1944
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The DC-3 aircraft had been decommissioned by Spanish Air Force and stored at Madrid-Cuatro Vientos Airport. It was auctioned in July 1979 and bought by Kurfiss Aviation of Germany to become part of an aviation museum. The aircraft was then repaired by mechanics contracted by the new owner. A provisional, restricted Certificate of Airworthiness was issued to allow the airplane to be ferried to Frankfurt via Perpignan Airport (PGF). On the day of the ferry flight a VHF radio was installed but two-way communication could not be established. The departure was delayed until finally took off at 15:29 hours, without authorization, using a runway which was not rated for the weight of the DC-3 aircraft. There was no communication with the flight due to the radio problems. The aircraft presumably reached the zone of Barcelona in very low visibility conditions, due to both the hazy conditions and the diminishing daylight hours. The airplane did not arrive at Perpignan. A search operation was started but no sign of the plane was found. It is presumed to have crashed in the Mediterranean Sea.
Probable cause:
Due to lack of evidences as the wreckage was not found, the exact cause of the accident could not be determined.

Crash of a Douglas C-47 in the Gulf of Thailand: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jul 2, 1980
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
19
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The airplane was engaged in a training flight when it crashed in unknown circumstances in the Gulf of Thailand, about 96 km off the Prachuap Khiri Khan province. Two passengers were killed while 19 other occupants were rescued.

Crash of a Learjet 25D into the Gulf of Mexico: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 19, 1980 at 1205 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N125NE
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
West Palm Beach - New Orleans
MSN:
25-271
YOM:
1979
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Captain / Total flying hours:
15740
Captain / Total hours on type:
6062.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
4116
Copilot / Total hours on type:
65
Aircraft flight hours:
1200
Circumstances:
The aircraft crashed into the Gulf of Mexico while en route to New Orleans, Louisiana, from West Palm Beach, Florida. Only the pilot and copilot were on board the aircraft. About 2 1/2 minutes after the aircraft was reported at Flight Level 430 in the vicinity of the Covia Intersection on Airway J58, the Jacksonville, Florida, Air Route Traffic Control Center received an unusual staccato sound transmission over the frequency, followed 18 seconds later by a report from the copilot, "Can't get it up...it's in a spin..." About 33 seconds after the first staccato sounds, radio and radar contact with N125NE was lost about 104 miles west of Sarasota, Florida. Floating debris were located by a search aircraft and later recovered; the flightcrew was not found. There were no known witnesses to the crash.
Probable cause:
An unexpected encounter with moderate to severe clear air turbulence, the flightcrew's improper response to the encounter, and the aircraft's marginal controllability characteristics when flown at and beyond the boundary of its high altitude speed envelope, all of which resulted in the aircraft exceeding its Mach limits and a progressive loss of control from which recovery was not possible. Contributing to the accident was the disconnection of the Mach overspeed warning horn with an unauthorized cut-out switch which resulted in the absence of an overspeed warning that probably delayed the crew's response to the turbulence encounter, and the insonsistencies in aircraft flight manuals and flightcrew training programs regarding the use of spoilers to regain control.
Final Report:

Crash of a Cessna 441 Conquest II in the Atlantic Ocean: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jan 11, 1980 at 0123 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
N441NC
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Shreveport – Baton Rouge
MSN:
441-0099
YOM:
1979
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Captain / Total flying hours:
8000
Captain / Total hours on type:
65.00
Circumstances:
After takeoff from Shreveport, the twin engine airplane climbed to its assigned altitude when the pilot obtained the permission to modify his route to avoid a storm. Then the aircraft flew to the east and climbed to the excessive altitude of 41,600 feet (some 6,600 feet above the maximum certified altitude for the aircraft) and the radio contact was lost with the pilot. An Air National Guard Convair F-106 Delta Dart fighter aircraft was dispatched and its pilot confirmed that both occupants seems to be unconscious. After few minutes, both engines stopped due to lack of fuel and the airplane entered a spin and eventually crashed in the Atlantic Ocean about 100 miles east of Norfolk, Virginia. Few debris were found floating on water but the main wreckage was never found as well as both occupants, the pilot Louis Benscotter and the football and baseball coach Robert Edward 'Bo' Rein aged 34.
Probable cause:
Due to lack of evidences, the exact cause of the accident could not be determined. However, the assumption that the accident was the result of a cabin depressurization that caused hypoxia due to a lack of oxygen was not ruled out.
Final Report:

Crash of a Beechcraft C-45H Expeditor in the Pacific Ocean: 1 killed

Date & Time: Nov 4, 1979 at 1529 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
N145DC
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
San Jose - Honolulu
MSN:
AF-564
YOM:
1953
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
En route from San Jose to Honolulu on a delivery flight, the pilot informed ATC about an engine failure and elected to ditch the airplane about 1,500 km northwest of Honolulu. The aircraft came to rest in water and the pilot was killed.
Probable cause:
Powerplant failure for undetermined reasons.
Final Report:

Crash of a Rockwell Aero Commander 500 in the Atlantic Ocean: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 4, 1979
Operator:
Registration:
N3815C
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Andros Town – West Palm Beach
MSN:
500-771
YOM:
1959
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Captain / Total flying hours:
623
Captain / Total hours on type:
102.00
Circumstances:
While in cruising flight between Andros Town and West Palm Beach, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions when the airplane crashed in unknown circumstances in the Florida Strait. SAR operations were initiated but no trace of the aircraft nor the pilot was found. The wreckage was not recovered.
Probable cause:
Due to lack of evidences, the exact cause of the accident could not be determined. The following findings were reported:
- Thunderstorm activity in the area,
- The pilot reported heavy thunderstorm activity over the ocean.
Final Report: