Ferry

Before the ferry flight, the pilot (PIC) & inexperienced copilot noted the left & right, float-type, underwing, fuel gauges indicated about 3,900 & 4,050 lbs of fuel, respectively. After takeoff, they noted that the cockpit gauges showed an opposite fuel imbalance of 4,100 & 3,600 lbs in the left & right tanks. Due to this indication, the PIC crossfed fuel from the left tank to both engines for about 30 min to rectify the perceived fuel imbalance. Later as they approached the destination, the left tank was exhausted of fuel, & the left engine lost power, although the left gauge indicated about 500 lbs of fuel remaining in that tank. The PIC then crossfed fuel from the right tank to both engines, & left engine power was restored. ATC vectored the flight for an emergency ILS runway 3 approach. The PIC was distracted during the approach & maneuvered the airplane to re-intercept the localizer. About 500' agl in IMC, both engines lost power. During a forced landing at night, the airplane struck a raised berm & was damaged. No evidence of fuel was found in the left tank; 125 gal of fuel was found in the right tank. Unusable fuel was published as 3 gal. During an exam of the engines & fuel system components, no preimpact failure was found. Historical data from the manufacturer indicated that when the airplane had a low fuel state, unporting of fuel tank outlets could occur during certain maneuvers. This information was not in the Convair 340 flight manual, although unporting of the outlets on this flight was not verified.

The flight was cleared for the VOR/DME approach to runway 17 at the Marco Island Airport. The CVR recorded conversation between the pilot and co-pilot reference to the approach, specifically the MDA both in mean sea level and absolute altitude for a straight-in-approach to runway 17. The flight crew announced that the flight was landing on runway 35. The flight crew did not discuss the missed approach procedure nor the circling minimums. The flight continued and the co-pilot announced that the flight was 5 miles from the airport to descend to the MDA to visually acquire the airport. While descending about 8.5 feet of the left wing of the airplane was severed by a guy wire about 587 feet above ground level from an antenna that was 3.36 nautical miles from the threshold of runway 17. The tower is listed on the approach chart that was provided to the flight crew. The airplane then rolled left wing low, recovered to wings level, then was observed to roll to the left, pitch nose down, and impacted the ground. A fireball was then observed by witnesses. The altimeters, air data computer, and pilot's airspeed indicator were last calibrated about 8 months before the accident. The co-pilots altimeter was found set .01 high from the last known altimeter setting provided to the flight crew. The CVR did not record any conversation pertaining to failure or malfunction of either the pilot or copilot's HSI, the DME or Altimeters. There were no alarms from the VOR/DME monitoring equipment the day of the accident. The flight crew of another airplane executed the same approach about 30 minutes before the accident and they reported no discrepancies with the approach. The MDA for the segment of the approach between where the tower is located is no lower than 974 feet above ground level.

The aircraft was ferried from Kiev to Bamako with an intermediate stop in Tunis following a complete revision at the Antonov factory in Kiev. En route from Kiev to Tunis, while flying over the north part of Greece, the crew informed ATC about technical problems and was cleared to divert to Thessaloniki-Makedonia Airport. As a radar (instrument) approach was not possible, the crew attempted to land under VFR mode in IMC conditions. On final, in limited visibility due to rain falls and fog, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located 4 km short of runway. All six crew members were killed. It is possible that the crew encountered technical problems with fuel.

On approach to Posadas-Libertador General José de San Martín Airport, the crew encountered low visibility due to foggy conditions. Despite the fact he was unable to establish a visual contact with the runway, the crew decided to continue the approach when the aircraft landed on the taxiway parallel to the runway. After a course of 800 metres, the aircraft overran, lost its undercarriage and came to rest. Both pilots escaped uninjured and the aircraft was written off.

The new owner/co-pilot of the 50-year-old airplane and another pilot, who was typed rated in the airplane, departed on a 1,700 mile ferry flight. After the first 250 mile leg, the airplane was landed at another airport with a right engine problem. The owner replaced the right engine and continued the ferry flight. Twenty minutes into the second flight, the replacement right engine lost power. The owner stated that they applied maximum power to the left engine, were unable to feather the right propeller, and performed a forced landing to a field. However, the airplane collided with trees before reaching the field, then burned after impact. Investigation revealed that during the past 5 years, the airplane had neither flown nor had an annual inspection, except for 3 recent maintenance flights, totaling 1.5 Hours. The right propeller blades had chordwise scratches. The left propeller blades had no chordwise scratches. Examination of the wreckage revealed three propeller strikes in the ground, near the right engine ground scar, and no propeller strikes in the ground, near the left engine ground scar. The right engine mixture was locked in the auto-cruise position, while the left was locked in the emergency position. Airplane charts listed the single-engine rate of climb with a feathered propeller to be 350 feet per minute, and 10 feet per minute with a windmilling propeller.

The aircraft had been stolen in December 1992 and was later found abandoned at Espinal Airfield. SEC Colombia bought it and completed an in-site C1 check before transferring it to Bogotá-El Dorado Airport. While taking off from runway 26 ( gravel strip of 1,010 metres long), the aircraft deviated to the left and failed to lift off. It overran, crossed a road and came to rest 275 metres further, bursting into flames. All four crew members were able to escape and were uninjured while the aircraft was destroyed by fire.

While taking off from the icy Lake Bondésir, the left ski struck an ice ridge on the ground. The main gear/ski collapsed and the aircraft came to rest. Both pilots escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The pilot, sole on board, was supposed to ferry the aircraft from Majuro, Marshall Islands, to Honolulu, Hawaii. About two hours into the flight, while cruising at the altitude of 7,000 feet, the pilot informed ATC about engine problems and decided to return to Majuro. Unable to maintain a safe altitude, the pilot was forced to ditch the aircraft about 320 km northeast of Majuro Atoll. A pilot who was flying in a second aircraft was able to give the exact position and the pilot was rescued 20 hours later. The aircraft sank and was not recovered.

While descending to Hiroshima Airport, the pilot encountered marginal weather with dark and limited visibility due to rain falls. On approach, the single engine aircraft struck the slope of Mt Noboru Lu (542 metres high) located about 15 from the airport. The wreckage was found at an altitude of 450 metres and the pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The pilots flew to Lawrence, MA to refuel for the return flight back to the west coast. They stated the fuel truck malfunctioned and stopped after it had pumped about 221 gallons into the airplane. They were warned about possible fuel contamination, but they reported sump samples did not reveal abnormal amounts of water. The pilots observed erroneous fuel totalizer indications during the low alt flight to Burlington, VT, where they topped off with fuel. The flight crew stated while in cruise flight at FL410, the left engine low fuel pressure light illuminated. Sometime later, the left engine lost power, followed by a loss of power in the right engine. Numerous restart attempts on both engines and the apu were unsuccessful. The pilots maneuvered towards the nearest airport, but were unable to visually identify the runway in time to land on it. The airplane touched down in a field, striking an irrigation structure and trees. Water-contaminated fuel was found in the fuel tanks, fuel filters, and throughout the fuel system.