Postal (mail)

The crew of the PA-31T Cheyenne had made one missed approach and the copilot was calling out the altitudes to the pilot. The pilot's reply to the copilot that he was just going to descend to 400 feet. The approach minimums were published for an MDA of 660 feet plus 80 feet when the control zone is not in effect. The aircraft flew into rising terrain. The copilot suffered minor injuries, the aircraft was destroyed due to impact and fire.

The single engine airplane departed Jezqazğan at 1139LT on a mail flight tour with several en route stops in Kara-Kengir, Kurgazyn, Amangeldy, Sary-Kengir, Sary-Su and Dzhetukoshur, carrying two pilots and a load of 368 kilos of mail. Weather conditions were considered as good upon departure. Two hours later, while leaving Kurgazyn, weather conditions were poor and the captain did not want to continue but was forced by the head of flight. While cruising to the north, the crew encountered poor visibility with ceiling down to 120 meters, foggy conditions and later some blizzard. Too low, the aircraft struck the ground and crashed in a snow covered field located 34 km north of Urozhayny. The captain was killed upon impact while the copilot was slightly injured. He elected to establish a contact with ATC but all radio systems were down. He took refuge in the main cabin and eat candies and nuts and staid in such conditions (OAT near zero) for about five days before being rescued. He died from hypothermia at hospital on January 13.

The aircraft had departed on runway 13. He was then directed to climb to 6,000 feet. Thirty seconds later he advised he had engine trouble and was returning to the airport. Shortly thereafter he advised he could not maintain altitude. The aircraft, one mile southeast of the airport, struck the roofs of two family type residences. Then struck two garages, ground impacted and struck the rear area of a third residence. An intense fire followed. Left engine had impeller failure. Propeller was pitched between low and high rpm. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The aircraft departed Khabarovsk on a mail flight to Kurung, a gold mine located in the Konder Mountain Range. While flying at a height of about 15 meters, the captain asked the passenger and the third pilot to jettison the mail bags when the aircraft struck a high larch and crashed, bursting into flames. Both pilots were killed while both other occupants were injured. The mission did not provide to jettison the mail bags but was arbitrarily changed by the captain.

Shortly after takeoff from Vitória da Conquista Airport, the twin engine airplane encountered difficulties to gain sufficient height. During initial climb, it stalled and crashed about 2 km from the runway end. Both pilots were killed.

The aircraft was on a night check courier flight. During arrival, the indicated airspeed was well above the legal limit of 250 knots for flight below 10,000 feet. Runway 04R was selected for landing after the crew were advised that their original choice (runway 11) was noise sensitive. They were advised not to descend below 2,000 feet until on final approach. The turn to final was completed about one mile from the runway at an altitude of approximately 700 feet. A steep (5°) final approach was flown with an estimated 1,000 fpm rate of descent. On landing, the aircraft bounced, banked/turned to the right, then it hit the ground, right wing first and burned. An exam of the wreckage revealed the aircraft was configured with the gear extended, the flaps down 20° and the spoilers retracted. No evidence of a preimpact part failure or malfunction was found. The trim was set for a heavy right wing and the fuel switches were set to x-feed fuel. Toxicological checks showed that both pilots had used or been exposed to marijuana and had CO2 in their blood from smoking; use of medication (phenylpropanolamine) by copilot. Evidence of possible fatigue/stress to both. Both pilots were killed.

While cruising at an altitude of 2,000 feet in marginal weather conditions on a mail flight from Gambell to Nome, the twin engine airplane struck the slope of a mountain and crashed. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

The aircraft was engaged on a mail flight from London-Gatwick Airport to East Midlands Airport. During the initial descent in preparation for landing at its destination, the attendant in the cabin reported that the mechanical indicators on one of the cabin doors were showing an unlocked condition. Shortly afterwards the right hand rear door (baggage door) came open, detached from its hinge mountings and became lodged on the leading edge of the right horizontal tailplane. The aircraft became uncontrollable and went into an increasingly steep dive which terminated in several abrupt pitch oscillations. Both the mainplanes and the horizontal tailplanes were subjected to overstressing in upload which resulted in their detachment from the fuselage. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all three crew members were killed.

The pilot, sole on board, was completing a mail flight from Wellington to Christchurch. He departed FL100 and started the descent to Christchurch when he reported technical problems to ATC and later declared an emergency after an engine was shut down. Few seconds later, he lost control of the airplane that entered a spin and crashed into the sea. SAR operations were initiated but no trace of the aircraft nor the pilot was found.

While on a night mail flight from Amarillo to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, the pilot encountered very bad weather conditions. The aircraft descended into ground in an area of extremely violent weather and crashed in a mountainous area located near Claude. SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the pilot was found. The wreckage was discovered on 29 August 1975 in an isolated area. The aircraft was totally destroyed and the pilot was killed.