Crash of a Cessna 401A in Minot: 4 killed

Date & Time: Feb 24, 1994 at 0949 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N4071Q
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Devils Lake - Rolla
MSN:
401A-0115
YOM:
1969
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Captain / Total flying hours:
5380
Captain / Total hours on type:
1500.00
Aircraft flight hours:
4220
Circumstances:
The public use flight was being operated by the Indian Health Service of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. It departed VFR from Devils Lake, North Dakota, with an intended destination of Rolla, North Dakota. The pilot attempted two visual approaches at Rolla, but encountered whiteout conditions due to a snow storm. He obtained an IFR clearance and diverted to Minot. He flew two ILS approaches to runway 31 at Minot and reported a missed approach after each. Radio contact was lost after the second approach. About an hour later, a snow plow operator found wreckage on the airport. Investigation revealed the plane had impacted to the right of runway 31 with the gear retracted and the flaps extended 15°. The 0959 weather was in part: 600 feet obscured, visibility 1/2 mile variable in snow, wind 110° at 11 knots. No preimpact mechanical anomaly was found with the airplane or engines. All four occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Failure of the pilot to maintain proper altitude during a missed approach. Factors related to the accident were: the unfavorable weather and snow covered terrain.
Final Report:

Crash of a Beechcraft 200T Super King Air in Ipoh

Date & Time: Dec 13, 1993 at 1540 LT
Operator:
Registration:
9M-CAM
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
BT-10 (BB-563)
YOM:
1979
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
After landing at Ipoh-Sultan Azlan Shah Airport, the twin engine aircraft veered off runway to the right, lost its undercarriage and came to rest near the fire brigade building. All six occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Short 330-UTT in Umiujaq

Date & Time: Dec 1, 1993 at 1510 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
C-FPQE
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Kuujjuarapik - Umiujaq
MSN:
3124
YOM:
1988
Location:
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
11
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
10122
Captain / Total hours on type:
500.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
10000
Copilot / Total hours on type:
10
Aircraft flight hours:
1323
Circumstances:
The two pilots were transporting Hydro-Québec employees in the aircraft to allow them to check electrical facilities in several villages along the Hudson Bay coast. The aircraft departed
Kuujjuarapik, Quebec, at about 1444 eastern standard time (EST) on a flight to Umiujaq, Quebec, a distance of 86 nautical miles (nm) to the north. The pilot-in-command was flying the aircraft. After the take-off from Kuujjuarapik, the crew contacted the Kuujjuarapik Flight Service Station (FSS) to file a flight notification and request weather information. The crew received three weather reports for Umiujaq from that FSS. The flight was conducted at an altitude of 5,000 feet on an outbound track of 045 degrees from the Kuujjuarapik non-directional beacon (NDB). Thirty miles from Umiujaq, the crew commenced the descent. Seven miles from the village, the aircraft was at an altitude of 700 feet and the crew could see the ground. The crew used a global positioning system (GPS) waypoint to supplement visual navigation (before reaching a downwind position), and continued their step-down procedure to about 200 feet above ground level (agl) on a heading of 25 degrees magnetic (°M). At that altitude, the visibility was reported by the crew to be over one and one-half miles and the crew could recognize references on the ground and position the aircraft for landing. When turning onto the final approach to runway 21, the pilot-in-command initiated a turn with at least 35 degrees of bank angle, and the aircraft stalled. The pilot-in-command initiated a stall recovery and called for full power. The aircraft did not gain sufficient altitude to overfly the rising terrain, and it crashed. The two crew members and two of the passengers sustained minor injuries. They were given first aid treatment at the accident site by other passengers.
Probable cause:
The stalling speed of the aircraft increased due to ice on the leading edge of the wings and because the pilot made a steep turn; the aircraft stalled at an altitude from which the pilot was unable to recover. A contributing factor was the crew's decision to continue the visual approach into Umiujaq despite the weather conditions reported.
Final Report:

Crash of a Cessna 404 Titan II in Bogotá: 13 killed

Date & Time: Jul 24, 1993 at 1340 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
HK-3001G
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Bogotá - Cali
Country:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
13
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Bogotá-El Dorado Airport, while climbing, the crew informed ATC about the failure of the left engine and was cleared to return for an emergency landing. While turning to the left, the aircraft stalled and crashed on a building housing a car dealership. All seven occupants on board the Cessna as well as six people on the ground were killed, among them the Director and the Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia. Seven other people on the ground were injured.
Probable cause:
Failure of the left engine during initial climb for unknown reasons. The aircraft then stall due to insufficient speed.

Crash of a Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 Marquise in Zwingle: 8 killed

Date & Time: Apr 19, 1993 at 1552 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
N86SD
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Cincinnati - Pierre
MSN:
765
YOM:
1970
Location:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
6
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Captain / Total flying hours:
10607
Captain / Total hours on type:
1922.00
Aircraft flight hours:
4580
Circumstances:
While cruising at FL240, a propeller (prop) hub arm on the left prop failed, releasing the prop blade, which struck a 2nd blade, breaking off its tip. This resulted in a severe engine vibration and shutdown of the left engine. The left engine was forced downward and inboard on its mounts. The cabin depressurized, possibly from blade contact. The flight crew made an emergency descent and received a vector to divert for an ILS approach to Dubuque. The airplane was incapable of maintaining altitude and descended in instrument conditions. Subsequently, it collided with a silo and crashed about 8 miles south of Dubuque. An investigation revealed the left prop hub failed from fatigue that initiated from multiple initiation sites on the inside diameter surface of the hole for the pilot tube. There was evidence that the fatigue properties of the hub were reduced by a combination of factors, including machining marks or scratches, mixed microstructure, corrosion, decarburization, and residual stresses. All eight occupants were killed, among them George Mickelson, 52, Governor of South Dakota.
Probable cause:
The fatigue cracking and fracture of the propeller hub arm. The resultant separation of the hub arm and the propeller blade damaged the engine, nacelle, wing, and fuselage, thereby causing significant degradation to aircraft performance and control that made a successful landing problematic. The cause of the propeller hub arm fracture was a reduction in the fatigue strength of the material because of manufacturing and time-related factors (decarburization, residual stress, corrosion, mixed microstructure, and machining/scoring marks) that reduced the fatigue resistance of the material, probably combined with exposure to higher-than-normal cyclic loads during operation of the propeller at a critical vibration frequency (reactionless mode), which was not appropriately considered during the airplane/propeller certification process.
Final Report:

Crash of a Cessna 550 Citation II in Billings: 8 killed

Date & Time: Dec 18, 1992 at 1645 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N6887Y
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Watertown - Billings
MSN:
550-0293
YOM:
1981
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
6
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Captain / Total flying hours:
6200
Captain / Total hours on type:
4415.00
Aircraft flight hours:
5275
Circumstances:
During descent into Billings, the Citation was sequenced behind a Boeing 757, and both airplanes were eventually cleared for visual approaches. About 1-1/2 mile from the runway the Citation was observed to roll rapidly to the inverted position and descended almost vertically into the ground. According to ATC transcripts and the airplane's cockpit voice recorder, the crew of the Citation had maintained visual awareness of the position of the B757 throughout the approach. At the time of the upset, the vertical separation between airplanes was 600 - 1,000 feet, and the horizontal separation was decreasing below 2.6 miles. One of the Citation captain's last comments was 'almost ran over a seven fifty seven.' Winds were 5 knots. All eight occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The pilot-in-command's failure to follow established vortex avoidance procedures, as published in the airman's information manual, to provide his own wake turbulence separation.
Final Report:

Crash of a Rockwell Gulfstream 695 Jetprop 980 in Monterrey: 9 killed

Date & Time: Oct 19, 1992 at 0543 LT
Operator:
Registration:
XC-AA38
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Monterrey – Ciudad Juárez
MSN:
695-95020
YOM:
1980
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
9
Circumstances:
The twin engine aircraft was completing a flight on behalf of the Attorney General of the Republic, carrying seven passengers and two pilots. After takeoff from Monterrey-General Mariano Escobido Airport, while climbing, the crew reported 3,000 feet when the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a field located 4 km from the airport. The aircraft crashed one minute after a night takeoff. All nine occupants were killed.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R in Kostanay

Date & Time: Oct 14, 1992
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-07840
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
1G169-55
YOM:
1976
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances near Kostanay while completing a flight on behalf of the Kazakh government. All three occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Crash of a Beechcraft C90 King Air in Saint Augustine: 2 killed

Date & Time: Apr 9, 1992 at 0710 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
N105FL
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Tallahassee - Saint Augustine
MSN:
LJ-1215
YOM:
1989
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Captain / Total flying hours:
7350
Captain / Total hours on type:
1600.00
Aircraft flight hours:
1338
Circumstances:
The airplane disappeared from radar about 1-1/2 mile short of the airport during a VOR runway 13 approach. Radar data shows that the altitudes, descent rates, and ground speeds were consistent with the approach profile. The last radar position of the airplane was at 100 feet on the runway extended centerline. The debris path was aligned on a 130° magnetic heading. Witnesses stated that the visibility was near zero in fog. Both occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The pilot's failure to properly adhere to the published instrument approach procedure which resulted in descent below the minimum descent altitude. Factors which contributed to the accident were the low ceiling and fog.
Final Report:

Crash of an Antonov AN-24RV near Al Sarah: 3 killed

Date & Time: Apr 7, 1992
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
J5-GBE
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Khartoum - Tunis
MSN:
7 73 108 10
YOM:
1977
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
10
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The aircraft was completing a special flight from Khartoum to Tunis, carrying 10 passengers, among them Yasser Arafat, head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. En route, weather conditions worsened and the crew lost his orientation while flying in a sandstorm. Due to fuel shortage, the crew attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed in a desert area located 100 km southeast of Al Sarah (Majin al Ma`sarah). Upon landing, the aircraft lost its undercarriage and both engines before coming to rest, bursting into flames. All 10 passengers were rescued while all three crew members were killed.