Ambulance

The single engine airplane departed Kyzylorda on an ambulance flight to Aralsk, carrying one doctor and two pilots. En route, the crew encountered an unexpected situation and apparently attempted to make an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed in a desert area, coming to rest upside down and bursting into flames. All three occupants evacuated with minor injuries while the aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire. Registration UP-A0279?

Beechcraft Super King Air B200GT aircraft, VT-MPQ belonging to the Directorate of Aviation, Government of Madhya Pradesh (DoA,GoMP) was involved in an accident on 06.05.2021 while operating a flight from Indore Airport to Gwalior. The flight was under the command of an ATPL holder with another CPL holder as Co-Pilot. There was one passenger on board in addition. The flight crew contacted ATC Indore for clearance to operate the flight to Gwalior. The aircraft was cleared for Gwalior via airway W10N and FL270. Aircraft departed from RWY25 at Indore and climbed to FL 270. Aircraft descended into Gwalior in coordination with Delhi and Gwalior. Approaching Gwalior the crew were advised by the ATC that RWY24L was in use. ATC then asked the crew if they would like to carry out a VOR approach for the opposite RWY 06R. The crew requested for a visual approach for RWY 06R in the night time and were cleared to descend 2700 ft and called field in sight at 25 NM. Crew then requested for right base RWY 06R and were cleared to circuit altitude. Crew called turning right base with field visual and were cleared to land which the crew acknowledged. Just before landing the aircraft and short of the threshold, the main gear collided with the raised arrester barrier and came to a halt on the Runway 06R just beyond the threshold markings at 1515 UTC. The aircraft was substantially damaged, however there was no post impact fire. The 2 crew and 1 passenger received minor to serious injuries.

The twin engine airplane (a PA-31 Panther II variant) departed Nueva Loja-Lago Agrio Airport at 1023LT on an ambulance flight to Guayaquil, carrying one patient, one nurse, two doctors and two pilots. The descent to Guayaquil-José Joaquín de Olmedo Airport was started when the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in the Río Salitre, near Salitre, about 35 km north of Guayaquil Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all six occupants were killed.

The single engine aircraft departed Boralday Airport in the suburb of Almaty on an ambulance flight to Kegen with five people on board. Shortly after takeoff, while climbing, the engine suffered a loss of power. The crew attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft lost height and crashed in hilly terrain. All five occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. Operator reported as Asia Continental Airlines.

The airplane departed São Paulo-Congonhas Airport on an ambulance flight to Diamantina-Juscelino Kubitschek Airport, carrying two doctors and two pilots. Following an unstabilized approach, the airplane landed too far down the runway 03 and was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran, went down a ravine and came to rest. All four occupants evacuated with minor injuries while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The airplane departed San Fernando Airport on an ambulance flight to Esquel, carrying a doctor, a nurse and two pilots. On approach to Esquel-Brigadier General Antonio Parodi Airport at night, the crew encountered poor visibility (200 metres) and the visual contact with the runway was lost intermittently. Nevertheless, the crew continued the approach and at decision height, the captain decided to continue the descent. After crossing Runway 23 threshold at a height of 78 feet, the pilot-in-command initiated a go-around procedure and turned to the left. The airplane continued in a left hand turn, causing the left wing tip fuel tank to struck the ground. Out of control, the airplane crashed on a small embankment located about 400 metres to the left of the runway centerline, coming to rest upside down and bursting into flames. Both passengers were killed and both pilots were seriously injured. Two days later, the copilot died from injuries sustained.

An IAI Westwind II 1124A type of aircraft with registry number RP-C5880, was destroyed following a runway excursion while taking-off at RWY 06, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Manila Philippines. All eight (8) occupants (six (6) Filipino, one (1) Canadian and one (1) American citizen are fatally injured. The aircraft is being operated by Lionair Inc. and was bound for Haneda, Japan on a medical evacuation flight. While the aircraft was on take-off roll before reaching taxiway R2, sparks were noted at the runway, it continued until the aircraft came to complete stop and engulfed by fire. Chunks of rubber and metal debris were present on the runway. Scrape marks coming from the right hand (RH) wheel hub were also visible. Tire marks followed by scrape marks on the runway coming from the LH tire and wheel hub were also seen after taxiway H1 intersection. Large portion of the remaining LH tire was recovered from the grassy portion near taxiway H1. After exiting from the asphalted portion of runway safety area, the aircraft initially run over two (2) runway edge lights then impacted into a concrete electric junction box and came to a complete stop at the runway secondary fence. The aircraft settled almost 172 meters away from the end of RWY 06, in an upright position at 14°30'53.50"N; 121°1'48.48"E and heading of 170 degrees. The flight was on Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) condition. A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) of NAIA RWY 06/24 closure for aircraft operation was declared at 2000H and opened for operation at 0420H, March 30, 2020.

The single engine airplane departed Ust-Kamenogorsk Airport on an ambulance flight to Aksuat. After takeoff, while in initial climb, the crew encountered engine problems. They elected to make an emergency in a snow covered field. The airplane came to rest upside down, bursting into flames. All five occupants escaped with minor injuries while the aircraft was destroyed.

According to the pilot, when the airplane’s airspeed reached about 90 knots during the takeoff roll, he applied back pressure to the control yoke to initiate the takeoff and noted a brief positive rate of climb followed by a sinking sensation. The airspeed rapidly decayed, and the stall warning horn sounded. To correct for the decaying airspeed, he lowered the nose then pulled back on the airplane’s control yoke and leveled the wings just before impacting the ocean. The pilot stated there were no pre accident mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Wind about the time of the accident was recorded as 110º downwind of the airplane at 15 knots gusting to 28 knots. The passengers recalled that the pilot’s preflight briefing mentioned the downwind takeoff but included no discussion of the potential effect of the wind conditions on the takeoff. The airplane’s estimated gross weight at the time of the accident was about 769.6 pounds over its approved maximum gross weight, and the airplane’s estimated center of gravity was about 8.24 inches beyond the approved aft limit at its maximum gross weight. It is likely that the pilot’s decision to takeoff downwind and operate the airplane over the maximum gross weight with an aft center of gravity led to the aerodynamic stall during takeoff and loss of control. Downwind takeoffs result in higher groundspeeds and increase takeoff distance. While excessive aircraft weight increases the takeoff distance and stability, and an aft center of gravity decreases controllability. Several instances of the operator’s noncompliance with its operational procedures and risk mitigations were discovered during the investigation, including two overweight flights, inaccurate and missing information on aircraft flight logs, and the accident pilot’s failure to complete a flight risk assessment for the accident flight. The operator had a safety management system (SMS) in place at the time of the accident that required active monitoring of its systems and processes to ensure compliance with internal and external requirements. However, the discrepancies noted with several flights, including the accident flight, indicate that the operator’s SMS program was inadequate to actively monitor, identify, and mitigate hazards and deficiencies.

On November 29, 2019, about 1911 Alaska standard time, a Piper PA-31-350 airplane, N4087G, was destroyed by impact and postcrash fire when it collided with mountainous terrain about 15 miles west of Cooper Landing, Alaska. The three occupants; the airline transport pilot, a flight nurse, and the flight paramedic were fatally injured. The airplane was operated by Fly 4 You Inc., doing business as Security Aviation, as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 visual flight rules air ambulance flight. Dark night visual meteorological conditions existed at the departure and destination locations and company flight following procedures were in effect. The flight departed Ted Stevens International Airport (PANC), Anchorage, Alaska, about 1848, destined for Seward Airport (PAWD), Seward, Alaska. Dispatch records indicated that, on November 29, Providence Seward Medical Center emergency clinic personnel contacted multiple air ambulance companies with a "weather check" for possible air ambulance transportation of a patient from Seward to Anchorage. The first company contacted was Guardian Flight, who declined the flight at 1624 due to limited daylight hours. The second company, LifeMed Alaska, declined the flight at 1637 due to weather. The third and final company contacted for the flight was Medevac Alaska. Their dispatch officer was not notified of the previous declined flight requests and forwarded the request to Security Aviation, who is their sole air charter provider. At 1731 Security Aviation accepted the flight, and Medevac Alaska flight SVX36 was staffed with a nurse and paramedic. A preliminary review of archived Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radar and automatic dependent surveillance (ADS-B) data revealed that the accident airplane departed PANC and flew south about 3,000 ft mean sea level (msl) toward the Sterling Highway. The airplane was then observed descending to 2,200 ft msl while flying a right racetrack pattern before flying into the valley toward Cooper Landing. The last data point indicated that at 1911:14 the airplane was over the west end of Jean Lake at 2,100 ft msl, on a 127° course, and 122 kts groundspeed. Ground witnesses who were in vehicles on the Sterling Highway near milepost 63, reported that they saw the lights of the airplane flying over the highway that night. One witness stated that he saw the airplane west of the mountains turn in a circle as it descended and then entered the valley. He observed the wings rocking back and forth and while he was looking elsewhere, he heard an explosion and observed a large fire on the mountainside. Another witness reported seeing the airplane flying low and explode when it impacted the mountain. Witnesses to the fire called 911 and observed the wreckage high on the mountainside burning for a long time after impact. The airplane was reported overdue by the chief pilot for Security Aviation and the FAA issued an alert notice (ALNOT) at 2031. The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center dispatched an MH-60 helicopter to the last known position and located the burning wreckage that was inaccessible due to high winds in the area. On December 1, 2019, the Alaska State Troopers coordinated a mountain recovery mission with Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The wreckage was observed on the mountain at an elevation of about 1,425 ft msl in an area of steep, heavily tree-covered terrain near the southeast end of Jean Lake in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. The airplane was highly fragmented and burned, however all major airplane components were accounted for. Multiple large trees around the wreckage were fractured and indicated an easterly heading prior to the initial impact.