Date & Time:
Dec 31, 1957 at 1257 LT
Type of aircraft:
Short S.25 Sandringham
Operator:
Registration:
LV-AAR
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Buenos Aires – Rosario – Corrientes – Formosa – Asunción
MSN:
SH.03C
YOM:
1945
Flight number:
AR706
Country:
Argentina
Region:
South America
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
44
Pax fatalities:
8
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
9
Captain / Total hours on type:
1019
Copilot / Total hours on type:
122
Aircraft flight hours:
7905
Circumstances:
The seaplane left Buenos Aires harbor at 1152LT bound for Asunción with intermediate stops at Rosario, Corrientes and Formosa. Few minutes after takeoff, the captain encountered oscillations and difficulties to control the airplane so he decided to return to Buenos Aires for a safe landing. Unfortunately, it was not possible to land immediately because of the presence of ship in the channel. Following several circuits, the pilot-in-command attempted to land when the airplane crashed into the sea few hundred yards off shore. A crew member and eight passengers were killed while 41 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
The accident was probably caused by a premature withdrawal of the flaps, a trend exacerbated by abnormal conditions affecting the airworthiness of the seaplane, particularly evident in the approach procedure, and a concurrent cause of inadequate maintenance of the aircraft, and the failure in the process of clearing the elevator control, established by seaplane maintenance manual.
Final Report:
LV-AAR.pdf204.47 KB
