Postal (mail) | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

While on a night approach to runway 35, the crew encountered low visibility due to low ceiling and fog. On final, the pilot-in-command lost control of the airplane that crashed few miles short of runway. Both occupants were killed and the aircraft was destroyed.

Probable cause:

Loss of control caused by a spatial disorientation. Inadequate maintenance and inspection was a contributing factor.

Final Report:

Crash of a Beechcraft C-45H Expeditor in Sanger: 3 killed

Date & Time: Nov 25, 1967 at 0405 LT

Type of aircraft:

Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor

Operator:

Priority Air Services

Registration:

N9450Z

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

MSN:

AF-247

YOM:

1952

Location:

Sanger

California

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:

2200

Captain / Total hours on type:

1400.00

Circumstances:

On a night approach to Sanger Airport, the copilot informed ground about an engine failure. The crew was unable to maintain a safe altitude when the airplane stalled and crashed few miles short of runway. All three occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the airplane was approximately 827 lbs above gross weight.

Probable cause:

Powerplant failure for undetermined reason. Inadequate preflight preparation on part of the flying crew and improperly loaded aircraft (weight and/or CofG).

Final Report:

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 in Nikolayevsk-on-Amur: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 24, 1964 at 1230 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-01231

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Nikolayevsk-on-Amur - Okha

MSN:

1 69 473 20

YOM:

1956

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

6349

Circumstances:

The crew departed Nikolayevsk-on-Amur on a mail flight to Okha. Few minutes after takeoff, he encountered poor weather conditions and the visibility dropped below minima due to snow falls. In such conditions, the crew decided to return to his departure point but lost orientation and failed to realize his altitude was insufficient. While cruising at an altitude of 190 meters in limited visibility, the single engine struck trees and crashed on the wooded slope of a hill (282 metres high) located 4,1 km from the runway's centerline. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and both pilots were killed.

Probable cause:

Poor flight preparation on part of the crew who decided to takeoff without any information related to the weather conditions enroute. Local meteorologists transmitted information to the crew afterwards but these information were considered as too optimistic and failed to reflect the truth.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 in Anadyr

Date & Time: Jan 16, 1962 at 1154 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-23721

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Egvekinot – Anadyr

MSN:

1 35 473 09

YOM:

1953

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was completing a mail flight from Egvekinot to Anadyr. On final approach to Anadyr-Liman Airport, weather conditions were poor with a limited visibility due to clouds down to 30 meters from the ground. During the last segment, the pilot-in-command saw a man walking on the runway and initiated a right turn in strong cross winds. The single engine airplane stalled and crashed near the runway threshold. All six occupants were slightly injured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the man walking on the runway was dispatched to set fire on ground to guide the airplane on approach. Investigations reported that the crew has not been informed about the presence of the man walking on the runway and he has not been informed that an aircraft was scheduled to land.

Crash of a Noorduyn Norseman in Kuli: 2 killed

Date & Time: Dec 15, 1960

Type of aircraft:

Noorduyn Norseman

Operator:

Registration:

VH-GSC

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Minj – Mendi

MSN:

252

YOM:

1943

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

While cruising at an altitude of 2,285 meters in bad weather conditions, the single engine aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located a mile away from Kuli. The wreckage was found two days later and both occupants were killed, the pilot Cpt Desmond J. Gleeson and a native passenger.

Crash of a Miles M.57 Aerovan IV in Göynük

Date & Time: Aug 5, 1958

Type of aircraft:

Miles M.57 Aerovan

Operator:

Registration:

TC-BIS

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

6422

YOM:

1947

Location:

Göynük

Black Sea Region (Karadeniz Bölgesi)

Country:

Turkey

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

In flight, the right engine failed, forcing the crew to carry an emergency landing in a field located in Göynük. The aircraft lost its undercarriage, slid for several yards and came to rest, partially destroyed. Both pilots were injured.

Probable cause:

Failure of the right engine.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-14P off Sukhumi: 6 killed

Date & Time: Apr 22, 1956 at 2050 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-14

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L1718

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Moscow-Vnukovo – Kharkiv – Rostov-on-Don – Sukhumi – Kutaisi – Tbilisi

MSN:

1460 002 02

YOM:

Flight number:

SU227

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

Aircraft flight cycles:

Circumstances:

Less than one minute after takeoff from Sukhumi Airport by night, while climbing to a height of 60 meters, the aircraft adopted a pitch-down attitude and eventually crashed into the sea about 3 km off shore. The airplane sank by 15 meters deep and all six occupants were killed. The aircraft was carrying a load of 2,117 kilos of mail.

Probable cause:

The exact cause of the accident could not be established with certainty. However, the assumption the pilot could be blinded by a beam was not ruled out.

Crash of a Douglas C-47-DL in Lyon-Bron: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jan 28, 1956 at 0017 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Operator:

Registration:

F-BCYK

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Nice – Marseille – Lyon – Paris

MSN:

4509

YOM:

1942

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

11307

Circumstances:

While descending to Lyon-Bron Airport, the crew encountered poor visibility with fog. On final, the airplane was too low and hit telephone lines before crashing in a field located in Saint-Priest, about 2 km short of runway 34. The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed. Built in 1943, the aircraft has been delivered to Air France on 20 April 1953.
Crew:
Gilbert Navarri, pilot,
Léopold Bat, radio operator,
Fernand Rozet, mechanic.

Probable cause:

It is believed that the pilot-in-command lost his visual references on final approach due to foggy conditions and did not realize his altitude was too low.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 near Tyumen: 7 killed

Date & Time: Dec 9, 1955 at 0745 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lisunov LI-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L4339

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Moscow – Kazan – Sverdlovsk – Petropavl – Pavlodar – Ust-Kamenogorsk

MSN:

184 281 01

YOM:

Flight number:

SU101

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

8612

Circumstances:

The aircraft left Sverdlovsk Airport bound for Petropavl with four passengers, a crew of five, 869 kilos of mail and 496 kilos of various goods. While cruising by night, the crew encountered higher winds than predicted and due to the lack of visibility, lost their orientation and were unable to locate the airport of Petropavl. The captain decided to divert to Kurgan Airport but was unable to contact ground due to communication problems. He then decided to return to Svedlovsk but as the fuel reserves were too low, he eventually decided to continue to Petropavl that was closed due to poor weather conditions. While cruising in snow falls about 215 km from Petropavl Airport, both engines failed due fuel exhaustion. The crew attempted an emergency landing in a snow covered field when the airplane crashed 250 meters from the Omsk-Tyumen railroad. Two passengers were seriously injured while all seven other occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The accident was the consequence of a loss of orientation by the crew in flight due to the combination of the following factors:
- Lack of discipline on part of the crew,
- Poor flight preparation with the result of insufficient fuel reserve for the entire duration of flight,
- Errors in flight in the navigation calculation. More than two hours of flight were not recorded in the navigator's logbook,
- Failure to use the flight direction finder,
- Poor weather conditions at night with high winds and snow falls,
- Unsatisfactory flight management from RDS Koltsovo and ADS Kurgan.
The following findings were considered as contributing:
- Unjustified weather forecast in the direction of the wind, issued by AMSG Koltsovo,
- Unstable work of the radio compass,
- Insufficient fuel for the operation,
- Unstable work of the communication equipment,
- Low qualification of the communications operators.

Crash of a Lisunov LI-2 in Moscow: 5 killed

Date & Time: Jan 13, 1955 at 1130 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lisunov LI-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-L5000

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Postal (mail)

Survivors:

Site:

City

Schedule:

Moscou – Gorki – Sverdlovsk

MSN:

334 449 02

YOM:

1953

Flight number:

SU031

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

2188

Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Bykovo Airport, while climbing to a height of 20-30 meters, the right engine failed. The aircraft lost height, collided with trees and eventually crashed onto a house located less than one km from the airfield. The airplane burst into flames and was totally destroyed as well as the house. All five crew members were killed while no one on the ground was injured. The owner of the house just left his house three minutes before the accident. The crew was completing a mail flight to Svedlovsk with an intermediate stop in Gorki, carrying a load of 1,989 kilos of mail and newspapers.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the failure of the right engine was caused by an act of sabotage. A nut was found in the fuel line which caused the fuel pump to fail during initial climb. A similar case was detected eight days prior to the crash.

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