Cargo

The aircraft was on a Domestic Charter flight (IFR) from Bloemfontein Aerodrome to George Aerodrome when the crew elected to execute an ILS approach for landing onto Runway 11. At 1,000 feet from the threshold of Runway 11 with the undercarriage selected down and at full flaps for landing at an IAS of 120kt when he advised the copilot that was the flying pilot at the time, to continue visually with the approach for Runway 11. Shortly thereafter they heard a loud impact sound and the right hand engine failed. The aircraft suddenly yawed and banked severely to the right and the flying pilot commented that they had experienced a bird strike on the right hand engine. The pilot-in-command immediately took over the controls and attempted to arrest the yaw to the right but the aircraft kept yawing to the right. He then made a blind transmission on frequency 118.9 MHz and called for a go-around. The co-pilot then selected full power on both engines retracted the undercarriage, whilst the pilot-in-command feathered the right-hand propeller. According to the pilot-in-command, the aircraft continued to yaw to the right and with the stall aural warning sounding with a loss of altitude, he pulled the left-hand engine stop and feather control and was committed to execute a forced landing on a cattle farm The pilot-in-command stated that aircraft was approximately just outside the boundary fence. Both wings collided with the gum poles of a telephone and wire fence causing extensive damage to the wings and fuselage under-surface. Both occupants sustained no injuries.

On approach to Villahermosa-Capitán Carlos Rovirosa Pérez Airport runway 26, the crew encountered poor visibility due to low clouds. As he was unable to locate the runway, the captain decided to initiate a go-around procedure. Few minutes later, while on a second attempt to land, the crew descended below the MDA until the aircraft impacted the ground and crashed near a wooded area located 3 km short of runway, bursting into flames. Both pilots were killed.

After landing at Kiev-Borispol Airport, the aircraft went out of control and veered off runway. The undercarriage collapsed and the aircraft came to rest. All five crew members escaped uninjured.

The aircraft departed Kinshasa-N'Djili Airport on a cargo flight to Goma, carrying five passengers, three crew members and a load consisting of telecommunications equipment for the Company Celtel. While approaching Goma, the crew was informed by ATC about the deterioration of the weather conditions at destination and a landing was not possible. Following a holding circuit, the crew was low on fuel and decided to divert to Gisenyi Airport, Rwanda. After landing on runway 01/19 which is 1,000 metres long, the aircraft went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest, bursting into flames. All eight occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed by fire.

The twin engine aircraft departed Goma on a cargo flight to Walikale, carrying two passengers, one pilot and a load of ores. About 10 minutes after takeoff, while flying in limited visibility due to poor weather conditions, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Nyiragongo located about 15 km north of Goma Airport. The wreckage was found at the altitude of 2,590 metres. The minimum safe altitude was fixed at 3,400 metres.

On August 13, 2004, about 0049 eastern daylight time, Air Tahoma, Inc., flight 185, a Convair 580, N586P, crashed about 1 mile south of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), Covington, Kentucky, while on approach to runway 36R. The first officer was killed, and the captain received minor injuries. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces. The flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121 as a cargo flight for DHL Express from Memphis International Airport (MEM), Memphis, Tennessee, to CVG. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan. The flight crew was scheduled to fly the accident airplane on a roundtrip sequence from MEM to CVG. Flight 185 departed MEM about 2329. The first officer was the flying pilot, and the captain performed the non flying pilot duties. During postaccident interviews, the captain stated that the takeoff and climb portions of the flight were normal. According to the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript, at 0017:49, the captain stated that he was just going to “balance out the fuel here.” The first officer acknowledged. From 0026:30 to 0027:08, the CVR recorded the captain discussing the airplane’s weight and balance with the first officer. Specifically, the captain stated, “couldn’t figure out why on the landing I was out and I was okay on the takeoff.” The captain added, “the momentum is one six six seven and I…put one zero six seven and I couldn’t work it.” He then stated, “so…we were okay all along.” At 0030:40, the first officer stated, “weird.” At 0032:31, the captain stated, “okay just let me finish this [the weight and balance paperwork] off and…I’m happy,” and, about 2 minutes later, he stated, “okay, back with you here.” At 0037:08, the captain contacted Cincinnati Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) and reported an altitude of 11,000 feet mean sea level. About 1 minute later, the first officer stated, “something’s messed up with this thing,” and, at 0039:07, he asked “why is this thing?” At 0041:21, the first officer stated that the control wheel felt “funny.” He added, “feels like I need a lot of force. it is pushing to the right for some reason. I don’t know why…I don’t know what’s going on.” The first officer then repeated twice that it felt like he needed “a lot of force.” The CVR did not record the captain responding to any of these comments. At 0043:53, when the airplane was at an altitude of about 4,000 feet, the captain reported to Cincinnati TRACON that he had the runway in sight. The approach controller cleared flight 185 for a visual approach to runway 36R and added, “keep your speed up.” The captain acknowledged the clearance and the instruction. The first officer then stated, “what in the world is going on with this plane? sucker is acting so funny.” The captain replied, “we’ll do a full control check on the ground.” At 0044:43, the approach controller again told the captain to “keep your speed up” and instructed him to contact the CVG Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT). At 0045:11, the captain contacted the CVG ATCT and requested clearance to land on runway 36R, and the local control west controller issued the landing clearance. Flight data recorder (FDR) data indicated that, shortly afterward, the airplane passed through about 3,200 feet, and its airspeed began to decrease from about 240 knots indicated airspeed. At 0045:37, when the airplane was at an altitude of about 3,000 feet, the captain started the in-range checklist, stating, “bypass is down. hydraulic pressure. quantity checks. AC [alternating current] pump is on. green light. fuel panel. boost pumps on.” About 0046, the first officer stated, “I’m telling you, what is wrong with this plane? it is really funny. I got something all messed up here.” The captain replied, “yeah.” The first officer then asked, “can you feel it? it’s like swinging back and forth.” The captain replied, “we’ve got an imbalance on this…crossfeed I left open.” The first officer responded, “oh, is that what it is?” A few seconds later, the first officer stated, “we’re gonna flame out.” The captain responded, “I got the crossfeed open. just keep power on.” At 0046:45, the CVR recorded a sound similar to decreasing engine rpm. Immediately thereafter, the first officer stated, “we’re losing power.” At 0046:52, the first officer stated, “we’ve lost both of them. did we?” The captain responded, “nope.” FDR data showed that, about 1 second later, a momentary electrical power interruption occurred when the airplane was at an altitude of about 2,400 feet. At 0046:55, the CVR stopped recording. Airplane performance calculations indicated that, shortly after the power interruption, the airplane’s descent rate was about 900 feet per minute (fpm). According to air traffic control (ATC) transcripts, at 0047:12, the captain reported to the CVG ATCT that the airplane was “having engine problems.” The local control west controller asked, “you’re having engine problems?” The captain replied, “affirmative.” At 0047:28, the controller asked the captain if he needed emergency equipment, and the captain replied, “negative.’” This was the last transmission received by ATC from the accident flight crew. The FDR continued recording until about 0049. The wreckage was located about 1.2 miles short of runway 36R.

While descending to Ononge, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and decided to divert to the Yongai Airfield located about 27 km northeast of Ononge. Few minutes later, while cruising at an altitude of 2,286 metres in clouds, the twin engine aircraft struck the slope of a mountain. Rescuers arrived on scene a day later. The loadmaster was seriously injured while both pilots were killed.

The copilot stated that the pre-flight and run-up before takeoff were performed with no discrepancies noted. After leveling off at 5,500 feet they noticed that the right engine cylinder head temperature and oil temperature was about 10 degrees above the normal parameter for that engine. Shortly after, both pilot's noticed a sharp decrease in the right engine mean effective pressure followed by vibration in the engine. The co-pilot looked at the right engine and informed the pilot that it was on fire around the front lower cylinders. Attempts by the pilot to extinguish the engine fire were unsuccessful. The pilot advised Air Traffic Control of their intention to ditch due to the right engine uncontrolled fire. The co-pilot, handed a life jacket to the pilot and then put his on. The pilot placed his life preserver to the side and did not put it on. While descending the co-pilot opened his side window, but the pilot did not. According to the co-pilot, shortly before ditching the pilot requested 10-degrees of flaps but the flaps did not move. Both pilots were at the controls of the airplane for the ditching. A review of maintenance records revealed that the right engine was installed on the airframe on May 14, 2003 at 45,660.5 hours total airframe time. A complete "C" Check was accomplished on June 15, 2004 at a total time of 45,741.8 hours with no discrepancies noted. The airplane ditched into the Caribbean Ocean 29 miles southeast of Beef Island, Virgin Islands, in an undetermined depth of water, neither the pilot or the airplane wreckage was recovered.

The North-Wright Airways Ltd. DHC-6 Twin Otter, registration C-FMOL, was departing from an approximately 1,500 foot long gravel strip at Mile 222 of the Canol Road (near the Tsichu River), Canada. The takeoff was initiated to the north and into wind. Immediately after becoming airborne, the aircraft encountered a strong right cross-wind and settled back onto the strip. The left wheel contacted willows that had overgrown the edge of the strip. The aircraft veered left into the willows at about 60 knots, and began to decelerate. Prior to flying speed being regained, the aircraft rolled off the end of the strip and come to rest in a shallow creek. The right wing partially separated from the fuselage at impact and the forward fuselage, nose gear and right main gear sustained substantial damage. The pilot and first officer were uninjured. The purpose of the trip was to move hunting gear and outfitter supplies back to an airstrip at Mile 170 of the Canol Road (Godlin Lake). The aircraft was at or near gross weight at the time of the occurrence.

Shortly after takeoff, while in initial climb, the aircraft collided with a flock of birds. Engines n°3 & 4 failed and the crew elected to make an emergency landing in an open field. The aircraft crash landed in a field and came to rest, bursting into flames. All five occupants were injured along with a young boy in the nearby field.