Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Derim - Lae

MSN:

227

YOM:

1970

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

1982

Captain / Total hours on type:

139.00

Aircraft flight hours:

32232

Circumstances:

On 23 December 2017, at 00:10 UTC (10:10 local), a Britten Norman BN-2A Islander aircraft, registered P2-ISM (ISM), owned and operated by North Coast Aviation, impacted a ridge, at about 9,500 ft (6°11'29"S, 146°46'11"E) that runs down towards the Sapmanga Valley from the Sarawaget Ranges, Morobe Province. The pilot elected to track across the Sarawaget ranges (See figure 1), from Derim Airstrip to Nadzab Airport, Morobe Province, not above 10,000 ft. The track flown from Derim was to the northwest 6.5 nm (12 km) to a point 0.8 nm (1.5 km) westsouthwest of Yalumet Airstrip where the aircraft turned southwest to track to the Saidor Gap. GPS recorded track data immediately prior to the last GPS fix showed that the aircraft was on a shallow descent towards the ridge. The aircraft impacted the ridge about 150 m beyond the last fix. There were no reports of a transmission of an ELT distress signal. During the search for the aircraft, what appeared to be the right aileron was found hanging from a tree near the top of the heavily-timbered, densely-vegetated ridge. The remainder of the wreckage was found about 130 m from the aileron along the projected track. The aircraft impacted the ground in a steep nose-down, right wing-low attitude. The majority of the aircraft wreckage was contained at the ground impact point. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces. The pilot, the sole occupant, who initially survived, was reported deceased by the rescue team on 27 December 2017 at 22:10. The pilot had made contact with one of the operator’s pilots at 16:15 on 23 December. The pilot’s time of death, recorded on the Death Certificate, was 10:40 am local on 24 December. Rescuers felled trees on the steep heavily timbered, densely vegetated slope about 20 metres from the wreckage and constructed a helipad.

Probable cause:

Cloud build up along the pilot’s chosen route may have forced him to manoeuvre closer than normal to the ridge, in order to avoid flying into the cloud. The aircraft’s right wing struck a tree protruding from the forest canopy during controlled flight into terrain. It is likely that the right aileron mass balance became snagged on the tree and rapidly dislodged the aileron from the wing. The loss of roll control, and the aerodynamic differential, forced the aircraft to descend steeply through the forest and impacted terrain.

Final Report:

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2 in Ekimchan: 1 killed

Date & Time: Nov 7, 2017 at 0825 LT

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

DalTransAero

Registration:

RA-02305

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Ekimchan - Udskoye

MSN:

1G240-07

YOM:

1990

Flight number:

SHA9001

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

5253

Captain / Total hours on type:

2500.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

13550

Copilot / Total hours on type:

10000

Aircraft flight hours:

2483

Aircraft flight cycles:

8807

Circumstances:

The single engine airplane depart Ekimchan Airport at 0834LT on a cargo flight to Udskoye, carrying two pilots and a load of 1,199 kilos of various goods. Six minutes after takeoff, while climbing to an altitude of 1,600 metres, the crew noticed a strong smell of fuel in the cockpit and decided to return. During the descent, flames came out from the engine that started to rough and eventually stopped on short final. The airplane stalled, impacted a birch tree and crashed in a wooded area located 132 metres short of runway 06, bursting into flames. The copilot was killed and the captain was seriously injured. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire.

Probable cause:

The crash of An-2 RA-02305 aircraft occurred during the forced landing. The necessity of the forced landing was caused by the engine stopping in flight due to the destruction of the cylinder head No.1 of the ASH62-IR engine No.K16509153. The destruction of cylinder head No. 1 is of fatigue nature and occurred due to exhaustion of fatigue life of the cylinder head material and reaching its limit state. Most likely, during the last repair of the engine the crack in the cylinder head was present, but was not through and was not revealed during the inspection. The most likely contributing factor to stopping the engine in flight was the impoverishment of the fuel-air mixture due to icing of the BAC filter mesh and the presence of a rubber plug on the filter flange of the corrector.

Final Report:

Crash of a Cessna 208A Caravan I in the Anavilhanas Archipelago: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 17, 2017 at 1240 LT

Type of aircraft:

Cessna 208A Caravan

Operator:

Registration:

PR-MPE

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Manaus - Anavilhanas Archipelago

MSN:

208A-0510

YOM:

2009

Location:

Anavilhanas Archipelago

Amazonas

Country:

Brazil

Region:

South America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

8535

Captain / Total hours on type:

660.00

Circumstances:

The single engine aircraft departed Manaus-Eduardo Gomes Airport at 1220LT on a flight to the Anavilhanas Archipelago, carrying cargo, four passengers and one pilot. Upon landing on the Rio Negro, the airplane struck the water surface and crashed upside down before coming to rest partially submerged. The pilot and three passengers were rescued while a fourth passenger was killed.

Probable cause:

The aircraft landed on the water with the landing gear in the down position.
Contributing factors:
- Attitude – a contributor
Failure to comply with the checklist during the pre-flight inspection and the flight itself favored the landing with inadequate configuration. This attitude may have been triggered by the pilot's confidence in his operational capability, because of his long experience in aviation.
- Flight indiscipline – a contributor
Failure to comply with the checklist indicated, in addition to the low level of situational awareness, a low level of concern for the safe conduction of the flight by failing to follow basic procedures set forth in the manufacturer's manuals and current regulations.
- Piloting judgement – a contributor
The pilot's choice not to use the checklist during the flight phases revealed an inadequate evaluation of parameters related to the operation of the aircraft. Improper compliance with the items in the Pre-Flight Inspection Sheet prevented the AMPHIB PUMP 1 and 2 circuit breakers from being rearmed.
- Aircraft maintenance – a contributor
After performing the test of landing gear extension and retraction by the emergency system, the AMPHIB PUMP 1 and 2 circuit breakers were not rearmed, being the aircraft delivered to fly in this condition. The setting recorded on the AIRSPEED switch of the landing gear position warning system computer demonstrated that the scheduled speed of 74kt was not in accordance with the recommended in the 9600-1A installation manual of Wipaire Inc. in its revision G.
- Memory – undetermined
The AMPHIB PUMP 1 and 2 circuit breakers were found disarmed after the occurrence, indicating that, after the completion of the maintenance service, the executor of the tasks probably forgot to comply with the procedures for reconfiguring the aircraft. In addition, it is possible that the pilot's automatism in relation to his way of carrying out the air operations, without the use of the checklist, has prevented the correct perception of the circuit breakers condition and the erroneous positioning of the landing gear.
- Perception – a contributor
The accomplishment of the landing on the water with the aircraft in inadequate configuration for the situation denotes a decrease in the level of situational awareness of the pilot, considering that the necessary factors and conditions for the safety of the operation were not observed.

Final Report:

Crash of an Antonov AN-26-100 off Abidjan: 4 killed

Date & Time: Oct 14, 2017 at 0823 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-26

Operator:

Registration:

ER-AVB

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Ouagadougou – Abidjan

MSN:

32 04

YOM:

1975

Flight number:

Kondor 26

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

23766

Captain / Total hours on type:

10133.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

2250

Copilot / Total hours on type:

2080

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Ouagadougou on a flight to Abidjan, carrying seven passengers, three crew members and military equipment on behalf of the French Army (antiterrorist operation 'Barkhane'). On approach to Abidjan-Félix Houphouët-Boigny Airport, the crew encountered poor visibility due to heavy rain falls. On short final, the aircraft descended below MDA, impacted water and crashed in the sea few hundred metres short of runway 03. Six occupants were rescued while four others including all three crew members were killed. The aircraft was destroyed. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were below minimums.

Probable cause:

The probable cause of this accident is the continuation of the approach below minimums without having established formal visual contact with runway references and without adequate monitoring of the aircraft's glide path. The rigorous application of the company SOPs should have necessarily led to a go-around.
The following factors contributed to the accident:
- Underestimation of adverse weather conditions below minimums;
- A lack of knowledge of the environment of Abidjan airport and insufficient awareness of the aircraft's vertical position;
- Inadequate monitoring of aircraft instruments and flight path (altitude and speed) in degraded weather conditions;
- A high workload due to continued final approach training and distraction from tasks not related to flight operations;
- Disabling EGPWS audible alerts due to unwanted alarms;
- Crew resource management (CRM) probably unbalanced by the authority of the PNF over the rest of the crew.
- Strict non-compliance with company SOPs.

Final Report:

Crash of an Antonov AN-26B in Goma

Date & Time: Sep 10, 2017 at 1130 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-26

Operator:

Registration:

9S-AFL

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Schedule:

Goma – Bunia

MSN:

140 03

YOM:

1985

Location:

Goma

Nord-Kivu

Country:

Region:

Africa

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Goma Airport, while on a cargo flight to Bunia, the crew reported technical problems with the right engine and was cleared to return for an emergency landing. The crew landed long (about half way down the runway) and after touchdown, the airplane was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran and while contacting lava ground, the right main gear and the nose gear collapsed. The airplane came to rest with its right wing bent and all four crew members evacuated safely.

Crash of a Britten Norman BN-2A-26 Islander in Eteringbang: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jul 25, 2017 at 1755 LT

Type of aircraft:

Britten-Norman Islander

Operator:

Registration:

8R-GRA

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Ekereku – Eteringbang

MSN:

3006

YOM:

1982

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

4760

Aircraft flight hours:

24716

Circumstances:

The twin engine airplane departed Ekereku on a cargo flight to Eteringbang, carrying fuel drums for local miners. On final approach to Eteringbang Airfield Runway 03, the aircraft was very low and the pilot initiated a right turn when control was lost. The aircraft crashed in a dense wooded area some 200 metres from the runway. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot, sole on board, was killed. The pilot Collin Martin was the Chief Pilot of Roraima Airways since 2015.

Probable cause:

The pilot flew a non-standard traffic pattern very low and very close to the runway. The excessive and extreme fight manoeuvres to position the aircraft for the landing resulted in a loss of aircraft control.
Contributory Factors:
The pilot’s failure to operate in accordance with established standard operating procedures when approaching the runway to land.

Final Report:

Crash of a Boeing 737-301F in Wamena

Date & Time: Jul 18, 2017 at 1239 LT

Type of aircraft:

Boeing 737-300

Operator:

Registration:

PK-YGG

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Cessna 207 Skywagon/Stationair

Schedule:

Timika – Wamena

MSN:

23743/1510

YOM:

1988

Flight number:

TMG103

Location:

Wamena

Special Region of Papua

Country:

Indonesia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft was performing a cargo flight from Timika, carrying five crew members and a load of various goods including constructioin materials. Upon landing on runway 15, the airplane bounced twice. It went out of control and veered off runway to the left. While contacting soft ground, both main landing gear were torn off and the aircraft slid for few dozen metres before coming to rest. All five crew members evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Cessna 207 Stationair in Vinalhaven

Date & Time: Jun 26, 2017 at 0741 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

N207GM

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Swearingen SA227 Metro III

Schedule:

Rockland - Vinalhaven

MSN:

207-0217

YOM:

1972

Location:

Vinalhaven

Maine

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

15436

Captain / Total hours on type:

356.00

Aircraft flight hours:

12458

Circumstances:

The pilot reported that the approach appeared normal, but during the landing on the 1,500 feet long gravel strip, the airplane firmly struck the runway and bounced. He added that the bounce was high and that the remaining runway was too short to correct the landing with power. The pilot chose to go around, applying full power and 20° of flaps for the balked landing procedure. During the climb, the airplane drifted left toward 50-ft-tall trees about 150 ft from the departure end of the runway. Unable to climb over the trees, the airplane struck the tree canopy, the nose dropped, and the pilot instinctively reduced power as the airplane descended through the trees and impacted terrain. The wings and fuselage were substantially damaged. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Probable cause:

The pilot's failure to maintain a stabilized approach, which resulted in a bounced landing and subsequent go-around with insufficient distance to clear trees during the climb.

Final Report:

Crash of a Swearingen SA227AC Metro III in Tampico

Date & Time: Jun 2, 2017 at 2245 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

XA-UAJ

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site: