Delivery

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Ketchikan – Prince Rupert – Dawson Creek – Buffalo Narrows

MSN:

194

YOM:

1957

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

10000

Copilot / Total flying hours:

5000

Circumstances:

The single-engine, float-equipped DHC-3 Otter departed Ketchikan, Alaska, at 0905 Pacific daylight time (PDT) on 09 May 1996 with a pilot and co-pilot on board. They were on a visual flight rules (VFR) ferry flight to Dawson Creek, British Columbia, en route to Buffalo Narrows, Saskatchewan. After a refuelling stop and weather briefing at Prince Rupert, British Columbia, the aircraft departed eastbound along the published Telkwa Pass VFR route. When the aircraft did not arrive at Dawson Creek, it was reported overdue. The next day, an extensive search for the missing Otter was commenced and wreckage was located by search and rescue aircraft at 1930 PDT, 30 miles east of Terrace, in the Telkwa Pass. The aircraft had struck mountainous terrain and was destroyed. Both occupants were fatally injured.

Probable cause:

The absence of aircraft wreckage and documentation precludes an analysis of the technical aspects of this accident. This analysis, therefore, concentrates solely on the operational aspects. The high impact speed is indicative of either a loss of control followed by a rapid descent into terrain or controlled flight into unseen terrain. Given that the pilot reported encountering snow showers within 15 miles of the accident site, it is possible that the weather continued to deteriorate and may have adversely affected the pilot's ability to maintain visual contact with the terrain.
Findings:
1. The weight and centre of gravity of the aircraft at the last take-off were estimated to have been within the prescribed limits.
2. The pilot was certified, trained, and qualified for the flight in accordance with existing regulations.
3. Marginal visual weather conditions existed in the vicinity of the accident site.
4. It is possible that deteriorating weather affected the pilot's ability to maintain visual contact with the terrain.
Causes and Contributing Factors:
It was not determined why the aircraft struck terrain; however, it is likely that the contact occurred during conditions of reduced visibility.

Final Report:

Crash of a Britten-Norman BN-2A-21 Islander near Keflavik

Date & Time: Mar 17, 1996 at 1212 LT

Type of aircraft:

Britten-Norman Islander

Operator:

Wagner Foundation

Registration:

N904WA

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Southern Peninsula (Suðurnes)

Schedule:

Reykjavik - Narsarsuaq

MSN:

904

YOM:

1981

Location:

Keflavik

Country:

Iceland

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The pilot, sole on board, was completing a delivery flight from Europe to the US via Iceland and Greenland. Eight minutes after her departure from Reykjavik Airport, outbound to Narsarsuaq, the pilot informed ATC that her portable GPS fell on the ground and was not able to locate it. It such conditions, she decided to divert to Keflavik Airport when less than five minutes later, while descending, the right engine failed. For unknown reasons, she did not feather the propeller and did not elected to restart the engine. Due to drag and a loss of speed, the aircraft lost altitude and crashed near the village of Njarðvík, about 5 km east of Keflavik Airport. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was seriously injured.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the loss of power on the right engine was caused by the pilot who probably inadvertently reduced the mix ratio of the right engine while trying to find the portable GPS. For unknown reasons, she did not feather the propeller which increased drag and reduced speed and lift. A the time of the accident, the total weight of the aircraft was 297 kilos above MTOW, which was considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of a Cessna 421B Golden Eagle II off Vigan: 1 killed

Date & Time: Mar 3, 1996

Type of aircraft:

Cessna 421B Golden Eagle II

Operator:

Hi Tech Aviation

Registration:

N69905

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Manila - Vigan

MSN:

421B-0537

YOM:

1973

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

On March 3,1996, at a time not reported, a Cessna 421B, N69905, registered to Hi Tech Aviation in Scottsdale, Arizona, reportedly crashed into the sea while attempting to land at the airport at Vigan in the Philippine Islands. The weather at the time and the circumstances of the accident were not reported. It was reported that the pilot was the only occupant onboard. According to the Philippine Air Transportation Office, the aircraft arrived in Manila on March 2, 1996. It departed the next day for a flight to Vigan to pick up a passenger with a return to Manila. It was last seen flying over the airport in the traffic pattern for landing. It is presumed to have crashed into the sea. The FAA aircraft records section in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, indicated that they received a bill of sale from Hi Tech Aviation indicating the aircraft was sold to a company in Manila on 01/19/96.

Crash of a De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver in Captain Cove: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 7, 1995 at 1100 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

C-FJAA

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Campbell River – Prince Rupert

MSN:

961

YOM:

1956

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The single engine aircraft was on a delivery flight from Campbell River to the seaplane base of Seal Cove in Prince Rupert. En route, in unclear circumstances, the aircraft crashed near Captain Cove, about 50 km southeast of Prince Rupert. Both passengers Mark Jonathan Cholomondeley and Ferlie Bating were killed while the pilot Spike Nasmyth survived.

Crash of a De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter 200 in the Pacific Ocean

Date & Time: Mar 16, 1995 at 0515 LT

Type of aircraft:

De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter

Operator:

Registration:

N37ST

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Oakland – Honolulu – Majuro – Suva – Auckland

MSN:

207

YOM:

1969

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

1100

Captain / Total hours on type:

200.00

Circumstances:

The aircraft departed overweight for a 17-hour ferry flight. Early in the flight the crew experienced some fuel problems and decided to continue when they resolved the problem. The crew indicated the en route winds were close to forecast. The ferry fuel system is a simple 5- tank gravity fuel feed into the fore and aft main tanks. About 6 hours from destination, they realized the ferry tanks were not flowing into the main tanks as planned. They began manually transferring fuel from the rear ferry tank to the forward ferry tank, and shut down the right engine to reduce fuel consumption. This did not stop the negative fuel flow from the main tanks. At the time of ditching, the crew estimated the fuel remaining in the ferry tanks was about 170 gallons, most of which was in the 3 aft ferry tanks. An aero engineer calculated that the aircraft was at least 10 inches behind the maximum aft cg at the time of ditching, and suggested that the ferry fuel system was not managed to maintain the cg within the allowable limits, a task made more difficult with the rear fuselage cargo.

Probable cause:

Intentional ditching due to the flightcrew's failure to properly manage the fuel system, and operation of the airplane in an excessively overweight condition.

Final Report:

Crash of a Let L-410UVP in Bukhta Provideniya

Date & Time: Jan 23, 1995 at 1157 LT

Type of aircraft:

Let L-410

Operator:

Registration:

UR-67115

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Dornier DO.28D Skyservant

Schedule:

Anadyr - Bukhta Provideniya

MSN:

79 03 11

YOM:

1979

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was performing a delivery flight from Ukraine to Honduras with several intermediate stops. On approach to Bukhta Provideniya, just after passing the outer marker, the aircraft sharply banked to the left. The left wing struck the ground and the aircraft crashed in a snow covered field some 2,100 metres short of runway threshold. All three occupants were injured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

It appears that the thrust reverser on the left engine mistakenly engaged on approach due to a mechanical failure.

Crash of a Dornier DO.28D Skyservant in Nuuk

Date & Time: Dec 5, 1994 at 1223 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

D-IDNG

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Rockwell Shrike Commander 500

Schedule:

Reykjavik - Goose Bay

MSN:

4112

YOM:

1971

Location:

Nuuk (Godthåb)

Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq

Country:

Greenland

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The twin engine aircraft was on a delivery flight from Germany to Colombia via Iceland and Canada, carrying one passenger and one pilot. On the leg from Reykjavik to Goose Bay, about 20 minutes into the flight, the right engine failed. As the pilot was unable to restart it, he decided to divert to Nuuk for an emergency landing. On short final, at a height of about 100 metres, the aircraft entered a right turn and struck the ground. Upon impact, the undercarriage were torn off and the aircraft came to rest against an embankment. Both occupants were slightly injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

The exact cause of the engine failure could not be determined. Except the fact that a hinge pin was missing in the injector air heating system, no technical malfunction was found. It was reported that the pilot was not certified to perform such flight and the passenger was not allowed to take part to such mission according to the provisional airworthiness certificate that was valid till the day of the occurrence. The possible presence of windshear on final approach was not ruled out and it was also reported that the approach was completed with a speed that was approximately 10 to 15 knots below the prescribed approach speed.

Crash of a Rockwell Shrike Commander 500S off Vestmannaeyjar: 2 killed

Date & Time: Sep 23, 1994 at 2102 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Eagle Air International

Registration:

N9082N

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Southern Region (Suðurland)

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Biggin Hill – Reykjavik

MSN:

500-3068

YOM:

1970

Location:

Vestmannaeyjar

Country:

Iceland

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was repatriating the aircraft from Kinshasa, Zaire, to the US. On the leg from Biggin Hill to Reykjavik, while approaching the Icelandic coast, the left engine failed. The crew declared an emergency and was cleared to divert to Vestmannaeyjar Airport. While circling for landing, the right engine failed as well. The crew lost control of the airplane that crashed in the sea few km offshore. Both occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the cause of the dual engine failure was the presence of a foreign material in the airframe fuel filters, causing restriction of the fuel flow and fuel starvation to both engines.

Crash of a Sud-Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 10B3 in Cayenne

Date & Time: May 6, 1993

Type of aircraft:

Sud-Aviation SE-210 Caravelle

Operator:

SERCA Colombia - Servicio Especializado de Carga Aérea

Registration:

HK-3835X

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site: