Cargo

The twin-engine airplane was scheduled for a routine night cargo flight. Witnesses and radar data described the airplane accelerating down the runway to a maximum ground speed of 97 knots, then entering an aggressive climb before leveling and pitching down. The airplane subsequently impacted a parallel taxiway with its landing gear retracted. Slash marks observed on the taxiway pavement, as well as rotation signatures observed on the remaining propeller blades, indicated that both engines were operating at impact. Additionally, postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airframe or either engine. The as-found position of the cargo placed the airplane within the normal weight and balance envelope, with no evidence of a cargo-shift having occurred, and the as-found position of the elevator trim jackscrew was consistent with a neutral pitch trim setting. According to the airframe manufacturer's prescribed takeoff procedure, the pilot was to accelerate the airplane to an airspeed of 85 knots, increase the pitch to a climb angle that would allow the airplane to accelerate past 96 knots, and retract the landing gear before accelerating past 128 knots. Given the loading and environmental conditions that existed on the night of the accident, the airplane's calculated climb performance should have been 1,800 feet per minute. Applying the prevailing wind conditions about time of the accident to the airplane's radar-observed ground speed during the takeoff revealed a maximum estimated airspeed of 111 knots, and the airplane's maximum calculated climb rate briefly exceeded 3,000 feet per minute. The airplane then leveled for a brief time, decelerated, and began descending, a profile that suggested that the airplane likely entered an aerodynamic stall during the initial climb.

The aircraft was being utilized in support of mineral exploration activities, to transport building materials, fuel, and winter camp supplies from Mayo, Yukon, to winter airstrips located at Withers Lake and Rackla River, Yukon. Withers Lake is located 113 statute miles (sm) east of Mayo, and Rackla Airstrip is located 94 sm northeast of Mayo (Appendix B). On the accident flight, the aircraft was transporting a load of twelve 6-inch by 6-inch wood timbers, each 16 feet long, and 2 barrels of jet fuel. The pilot had arrived at the Mayo Airport at about 0630 1 on the morning of the accident. The pilot’s first trip of the day was to Withers Lake, departing Mayo at 0834. The pilot completed 2 trips to Withers Lake and 1 trip to Rackla prior to the accident flight. The accident flight departed Mayo at 1448 under visual flight rules (VFR) on a company itinerary. At 1507 the Canadian Mission Control Centre (CMCC) received a 406-MHz emergency locater transmitter (ELT) alert. Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre Victoria (JRCC Victoria) was notified at 1522. Aircraft operating in the area were alerted, and a commercial helicopter was dispatched from Ross River, Yukon, approximately 1 hour later to search for the aircraft. The helicopter crew located the aircraft wreckage at 1833 at about 4300 feet above sea level (asl), on a remote, snow-covered hillside 38 nautical miles (nm) northeast of Mayo.

The four engine airplane departed Brazzaville-Maya Maya Airport on a cargo service to Pointe-Noire, carrying five passengers, four crew members and a load of 750 kilos of meat. On final approach to Pointe-Noire Airport runway 17, the aircraft rolled to the right, got inverted and crashed in the residential area of Mvoumvou located 4 kilometers short of runway. The aircraft was totally destroyed as well as several houses. All nine occupants and 14 people on the ground were killed.

The crew was preparing the aircraft to perform a cargo flight to Calgary (flight NRL920). While taxiing, the aircraft went out of control, collided with a parked Ameriflight Piper PA-31 before coming to rest against a metallic fence. Both pilots were uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

At 0445 Eastern Standard Time on 24 February 2011, the pilot of an Aero Commander 500S, registered VH-WZU, commenced a freight charter flight from Cairns to Horn Island, Queensland under the instrument flight rules. The aircraft arrived in the Horn Island area at about 0720 and the pilot advised air traffic control that he intended holding east of the island due to low cloud and rain. At about 0750 he advised pilots in the area that he was north of Horn Island and was intending to commence a visual approach. When the aircraft did not arrive a search was commenced but the pilot and aircraft were not found. On about 10 October 2011, the wreckage was located on the seabed about 26 km north-north-west of Horn Island.

Eight minutes after takeoff from Bukavu-Kavumu Airport, while climbing, the twin engine aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances on the slope of Mt Biega, some 25 km north of Bukavu. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots were killed. They were completing a cargo flight to Lusenge.

The pilot reported that the runway at the destination airport was ice-covered, and that upon touchdown the surface was slicker than he had anticipated. He aborted the landing by applying full power to take off. The airplane was unable to out-climb the rising terrain at the end of the runway, and it collided with terrain, sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot indicated that there were no mechanical issues with the airplane that precluded its normal operation.

Prior to the flight, the pilot preflighted the airplane and recalled observing the fuel gauge indicating full; however, he did not visually check the fuel tanks. The airplane departed and the en route portion of the flight was uneventful. During the downwind leg of the circling approach, the engines began to surge and the pilot added full power and turned on the fuel boost pumps. While abeam the approach end of the runway on the downwind leg, the engines again started to surge and subsequently lost power. He executed a forced landing and the airplane impacted terrain short of the runway. A postaccident examination by Federal Aviation Administration inspectors revealed the fuselage was buckled in several areas, and the left wing was crushed and bent upward. The fuel tanks were intact and approximately one cup of fuel was drained from the single fuel sump. Fueling records indicated the airplane was fueled 3 days prior to the accident with 135 gallons of fuel or approximately 4 hours of operational time. Flight records indicated the airplane had flown approximately 4 hours since refueling when the engines lost power.

While approaching Nassau-Lynden Pindling Airport runway 27 in poor weather conditions (cold front), the twin engine aircraft crashed into the sea few km offshore. Some debris were found floating on water north of Nassau. Both pilots were killed.

On 27th November, 2010 the operating crew of mishap aircraft flew from Fujairah (UAE) to JIAP, Karachi (Pakistan) at 1000 UTC. The load onboard was weighing 9 tons (Packaged Boeing
747 engine). The aircraft had flown to Fujairah airport from Kandahar. According to the provided information on the 27-11-2010 the crew comprising Aircraft Commander, Second Pilot, Navigator, Flight Engineer, Flight Radio Operator, and Flight Operator flew from Fujairah (UAE) to JIAP Karachi. After landing the crew members were shifted to “Regent Plaza” hotel in Karachi. The stay of crew in the hotel was not less than 8 hours. The aircraft was refuelled at JIAP, Karachi and total fuel onboard was 74 tons. A cargo load of 30.5 tons was also loaded after refuelling the aircraft. The aircraft mass was 197 tons with its CG at 30% Mean Aerodynamic Chord (MAC) before undertaking the mishap flight. The aircraft was scheduled for departure from JIAP, Karachi at 2025 UTC 28th November, 2010) on route “Karachi – Khartoum – Douala, Cameroon to deliver humanitarian aid (tents). The crew arrived at airport around 1900 UTC. The weather conditions were satisfactory. The weather details are mentioned in this report at Para 1.7. After starting engines the crew taxied the plane to Runway 25L and reported to the air traffic controller that the plane would take off in 3 minutes and the aircraft took off at 2048 UTC. According to the radar data the aircraft ascended to 600 feet, started descending and then disappeared from the radar screen. The air traffic controller did not receive any information from the crew members about emergency conditions onboard. The aircraft crashed at about 2050 UTC on a bearing of 070 degree and approximately 02 NM from JIAP, Karachi at geographical location N24°53.651’, E 067°06.406’.