Crash of a Piper PA-31-325 Navajo C/R in Kaltag: 3 killed

Date & Time: Sep 3, 1990 at 1520 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N59783
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Nulato - Kaltag
MSN:
31-7612024
YOM:
1976
Location:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
9
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Captain / Total flying hours:
8150
Captain / Total hours on type:
500.00
Circumstances:
The pilot reported that the #2 engine began to lose power as he was flying under a low overcast and about 500 feet above the Yukon River. Subsequently, the airplane descended and the fuselage and left propeller contacted the water. With these problems and decreasing visibility ahead, the pilot elected to make a 180° turn. He said that about midway through the turn, the #2 engine lost all power. The airplane then crashed into trees and was destroyed by a post-impact fire. No reason was found for either engine to lose power before water or tree contact.
Probable cause:
Failure of the pilot to maintain adequate altitude after becoming distracted with an engine problem. Factors related to the accident were: loss of power in the #2 engine for an unknown reason and the low overcast condition.
Final Report:

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-28 in Rushan

Date & Time: Aug 18, 1990 at 1343 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-28761
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
1AJ004-10
YOM:
1987
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On short final to Rushan Airport, the aircraft lost height and struck the ground 40 meters short of runway threshold and came to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
The pilot-in-command inadvertently moved the throttles into idle position on short final, causing the aircraft to lose height and to struck the ground with a positive acceleration of 4,42 g.

Crash of a Yakovlev Yak-40 near Stepanakert: 47 killed

Date & Time: Aug 1, 1990 at 1009 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-87453
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Yerevan - Stepanakert
MSN:
9 43 10 36
YOM:
1974
Flight number:
SU35D
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
43
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
47
Circumstances:
The aircraft operated on a passenger service from Yerevan-Erebuni Airport to Stepanakert Airport. In addition to 30 passengers with tickets, the crew took on board 13 unregistered passengers. With this heavy load, the captain requested a lower altitude, 4,500 meters, for the flight. This was granted by ATC, while the regular altitude on the route was 5,100-6,600 meters with a minimum safe height of 4,516 meters. At 09:59, at a distance of 21 km after passing the Azizbekov NDB, the crew was taken over by a controller of Kafan Airport. The controller instructed to keep the height of 4,500 meters to the point of descent. The flight was the cleared down to 3,900 meters and the aircraft descended over mountains covered by a cloud deck with an upper boundary of 3,000-3,300 meters. However, the flight crew never reported their exact position and the controller did not check it on radar. The flight reached the altitude of 3,900 meters at 10:07, and continued descending without informing the controller. At 10:08, the captain requested to contact Stepanakert, while giving a false report that the flight altitude was 3,900 meters. Not observing the aircraft, not knowing its actual flight altitude and not having direct communication with the controller at Stepanakert, the Kafan ATC controller allowed the crew to switch to the Stepanakert frequency. The captain reported to the controller that they were at an altitude of 3,900 meters and requested permission to descend to 2,400 meters. The controller at Stepanakert, having no radar facilities to monitor the aircraft, permitted a descent to 3,000 meters the NDB. At 10:09:57, the aircraft collided with a rocky mountain slope at an altitude of 2,520 meters while descending in clouds. All 47 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The accident was caused by a combination of the following factors:
- The captain's violations of the flight rules set forth in the policy documents manifested in unsatisfactory navigation, straightening the route and premature unauthorized descent to a height below the minimum safety altitude, which resulted in a collision with a mountain.
- Violations of ATC rules in their zones by ATC dispatchers of Erebuni, Kafan and Stepanakert airports, expressed in failure to comply with the rules of air traffic control and non-interference in the actions of the crew who violated the rules of navigation and flight regime, which did not allow timely prevention of the aircraft collision with an obstacle. The dispatchers at Yerevan-Stepanakert have a stereotype of work: to allow those conditions of approach, which the crews requested. These violations became possible due to shortcomings in the organization of flight work, flights and air traffic control at the Yerevan-Stepanakert MVL of the Armenian and Azerbaijani State Administration.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2 in Iberia

Date & Time: Jul 26, 1990
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Survivors:
Yes
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
8
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The single engine airplane apparently crashed upon landing. All 10 occupants were slightly injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Boeing 737-222 in Kinston

Date & Time: Jul 22, 1990 at 1455 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N210US
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Kinston - Charlotte
MSN:
19555
YOM:
1968
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
22
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
10100
Captain / Total hours on type:
3300.00
Aircraft flight hours:
51264
Circumstances:
As engine power was increased for takeoff, the n°1 engine accelerated beyond target epr. Engine shut down had to be done with the fuel shut off lever. The asymmetric thrust was controlled with nose wheel steering. Before the airplane could be stopped the nose wheels separated from the landing gear. The investigation revealed that the fuel pump output spline to the fuel control had stripped. It occurred at such a time that the fuel control sensed an underspeed and increased Fuel flow. Misalignment of the spline shaft resulted from improper machining during pump modification. The nose gear inner cylinder failed in fatigue in an area of excessive grinding during overhaul. Two passengers were slightly injured.
Probable cause:
Failure of the fuel pump control shaft because of improper machining by the repair facility during maintenance modification of the pump and improper procedures during overhaul of the nose landing gear.
Final Report:

Crash of a Beechcraft 200 Super King Air in Touba

Date & Time: Jul 21, 1990 at 1200 LT
Operator:
Registration:
TU-VBB
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Yamoussoukro - Touba
MSN:
BB-295
YOM:
1977
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
10
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Following a wrong approach configuration, the twin engine aircraft landed too far down the runway 23 which is 1,600 meters long. After touchdown, the crew realized that the landing distance available was too short and decided to veer off runway. The aircraft rolled on a grassy area and came to rest. All 12 occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the aircraft landed too far down the runway after the crew continued the approach too high on the glide. The braking action was poor because the runway surface was wet which was considered as a contributing factor.

Crash of a Britten-Norman BN-2A-8 Islander off Union Island: 2 killed

Date & Time: Jul 12, 1990
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
J6-SLW
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Castries - Union Island
MSN:
6
YOM:
1967
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
While approaching Union Island on a flight from Castries-Vigie Airport, the twin engine aircraft stalled and crashed in the sea. Both occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
It is believed the aircraft stalled on approach because its speed was too low.

Crash of a Britten-Norman BN-2A-21 Islander near Port Moresby: 8 killed

Date & Time: Jul 5, 1990
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
P2-DNJ
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Port Moresby - Woitape
MSN:
857
YOM:
1977
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
11
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
8
Circumstances:
After takeoff from Port Moresby Airport, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions. While flying at an insufficient altitude, the twin engine aircraft struck the slope of a mountain and crashed 35 km north of Port Moresby. SAR operations were initiated but the wreckage was found in an isolated area five days later only. Four passengers seriously wounded were rescued while eight other occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the visibility was poor.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-62M in Yakutsk

Date & Time: Jul 1, 1990 at 0019 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-86456
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Moscow - Yakutsk
MSN:
2623717
YOM:
1976
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
99
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The four engine aircraft departed Moscow-Domodedovo Airport at 1237LT with 99 passengers and 10 crew members on board. Following an uneventful flight of 5 hours and 42 minutes, the crew started the approach to Yakutsk-Intl Airport by night. After touchdown on runway 23 (3,300 meters long), the flight engineer mistakenly selected reverse thrust on engine n°2 and 3 only, letting both engines n°1 and 4 running at takeoff power. Both pilots took few seconds to identify the problem and the aircraft's speed was about 265-270 km/h and there were 655 meters of remaining runway. The captain attempted an emergency braking procedure when all tyres burst and the aircraft overran runway at a speed of 200 km/h, lost its undercarriage and came to rest 397 meters further, broken in three. All 109 occupants were evacuated, among them six were injured, two seriously. The aircraft was written off.
Probable cause:
The accident was the consequence of an error on part of the flight engineer who mistakenly selected reverse thrust on engine n°2 and 3 only, letting both engines n°1 and 4 running at takeoff power.
The following contributing factors were reported:
- The spoilers could not deploy because reverse thrust was not activated on all four engines,
- The crew was disorganized during the landing phase,
- Poor crew coordination,
- The mistake committed by the flight engineer was identified too late by the rest of the flying crew, ¨
- Heavy verbal charge during the landing phase,
- Insufficient professional skills of the flight engineer.

Crash of a Fairchild-Hiller FH-227B in Altamira: 22 killed

Date & Time: Jun 6, 1990 at 0529 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
PT-ICA
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Belém – Altamira – Santarem – Itaituba – Alta Floresta – Cuiabá
MSN:
570
YOM:
1967
Flight number:
TAB814
Location:
Country:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
39
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
22
Circumstances:
The approach to Altamira Airport was completed by night and marginal weather conditions. Despite the visibility was limited with the presence of fog bank on final, the crew decided to continue under VFR mode. On short final, the aircraft was too low, struck trees and crashed 850 meters short of runway 07. Both pilots and 20 passengers were killed while 22 other occupants were injured.
Probable cause:
The accident was the consequence of the following factors:
- Adverse weather conditions,
- Poor approach planning,
- Poor judgement,
- Poor flight discipline as the crew failed to follow ATC instructions,
- Influence of environment as the region was conducive to the formation of fog,
- The captain had sufficient rest time but his last sleep period was less than five hours,
- The captain was going through a period in which he showed boredom, aggressiveness and demotivation.