Crash of a Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander in Chongoene: 5 killed

Date & Time: May 15, 1985
Type of aircraft:
Britten-Norman Islander
Operator:
Registration:
C9-AMV
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Vilanculos – Maputo
MSN:
219
YOM:
1970
Location:
Chongoene
Gaza
Country:
Mozambique
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The departure from Vilanculos was postponed due to technical problems. An engineer was expected for about 48 hours but failed to come. The pilot decided to conduct the flight despite the problems were not resolved. En route, while cruising along the shore, he encountered technical problems and attempted to make an emergency landing on a beach when the aircraft crashed. All five occupants were killed.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-134A near Zolochiv: 79 killed

Date & Time: May 3, 1985 at 1213 LT
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev TU-134
Operator:
Registration:
CCCP-65856
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Tallin – Lviv – Chisinau
MSN:
23253
YOM:
1975
Flight number:
SU8381
Location:
Zolochiv
Lviv Oblast
Country:
Ukraine
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
72
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
79
Aircraft flight hours:
18548
Aircraft flight cycles:
12306
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Tallin, the aircraft entered the TMA of Lviv and was cleared to descend from 4,800 meters to 4,200 meters. The crew was informed about the presence of an Antonov AN-26 that took off from Lviv-Sknyliv Airport at 1202LT and was climbing to 3,900 meters. En route to Moscow, the AN-26 was carrying 15 people, most of them officers from the Carpathian Military contingent. At 1212LT, the crew of the TU-134 was cleared to continue to descend below 4,200 meters. One minute later, while cruising in clouds at an altitude of 3,900 meters, both aircraft collided, entered a dive and crashed in an open field located near the city of Zolochiv, about 60 km east of Lviv. Both aircraft were totally destroyed and all 94 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the accident was the consequence of a poor radar coverage by ATC who failed to properly coordinate control and assistance to both planes. ATC in charge of the sector where the collision occurred cleared the crew of the TU-134 to continue to descend when he actually had no idea of the exact position of both planes. This caused the Tupolev to descend too low and to cut the Antonov trajectory. The supervisor in charge of the sector was also blamed insofar he failed to pay sufficient attention to the operations and was unable to identify in time a possible conflict and thus, was unable to initiate any corrective action and to assist his colleague.

Crash of a Boeing 737-2P5 in Phuket: 11 killed

Date & Time: Apr 15, 1985 at 2329 LT
Type of aircraft:
Boeing 737-200
Operator:
Registration:
HS-TBB
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Bangkok - Phuket
MSN:
21810
YOM:
1979
Location:
Phuket
Phuket (ภูเก็ต)
Country:
Thailand
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
11
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Bangkok, the crew started the descent to Phuket Airport by night and good weather conditions. Four minutes after being cleared to descend to 3,000 feet, the pilot reported that he was unable to receive the DME signal. ATC asked the crew if he wanted to conduct a VOR approach to runway 09 but the captain preferred to attempt a visual approach to runway 27. On final, the aircraft struck a hill (800 feet high) and crashed about 18 km short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed and all 11 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Decision of the crew to continue the approach below MDA until the aircraft struck the ground.

Crash of an Antonov AN-24RV in the Khövsgöl Province

Date & Time: Apr 15, 1985
Type of aircraft:
Antonov AN-24
Operator:
Registration:
BNMAU-10207
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
MSN:
5 73 102 07
YOM:
1975
Location:
Mongolia
All Mongolia
Country:
Mongolia
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed in unknown circumstances while approaching an airport located in the Khövsgöl Province. The exact date remains unknown, somewhere in April 1985.

Crash of a Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain in Port Macquarie

Date & Time: Apr 13, 1985 at 1550 LT
Type of aircraft:
Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftain
Operator:
Registration:
VH-AOX
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Port Macquarie – Coffs Harbour
MSN:
31-7852049
YOM:
1978
Location:
Port Macquarie
New South Wales
Country:
Australia
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
8
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The pilot reported that shortly after the aircraft became airborne, he noted a substantial change in propeller pitch noise and an associated loss of performance. Insufficient runway remained to permit a landing straight ahead. The pilot raised the landing gear and flap, however the aircraft failed to climb and the airspeed decayed to below the safe single engine speed. The take-off attempt was abandoned and a forced landing was carried out off the end of the runway. The rear fuselage impacted heavily on a dirt bank 78 metres beyond the runway threshold, following which the aircraft passed through a fence and slid for a further 78 metres before coming to rest. All nine occupants escaped uninjured.
Probable cause:
No fault was subsequently found with the engines or systems of the aircraft which might have explained the reported loss of performance. Calculations indicated that the weight of the aircraft at the time of take-off was close to the maximum allowable, but the centre of gravity was aft of the rear limit. Several of the passengers indicated that the aircraft rotated sharply to an unusually high nose attitude as it became airborne. The pilot's action in raising the flap when he perceived the power loss was contrary to the emergency procedures for the type, and probably resulted in sink and a further reduction in airspeed.
Final Report:

Crash of a Piper PA-31-310 Navajo in Nantucket

Date & Time: Apr 6, 1985 at 1815 LT
Type of aircraft:
Piper PA-31-310 Navajo
Operator:
Will's Air
Registration:
N68DD
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Hyannis - Nantucket
MSN:
31-532
YOM:
1969
Location:
Nantucket
Massachusetts
Country:
United States of America
Region:
North America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
5800
Captain / Total hours on type:
370.00
Aircraft flight hours:
6878
Circumstances:
Aircraft collided with trees during final approach to runway 24. No evidence of pre-impact failure or malfunction of the aircraft was found. Reported weather at crash site indefinite 100 feet sky obscured. RVR 2,400 feet. Aircraft should have encountered a decreasing headwind and probably moderate turbulence on the final descent. The aircraft was destroyed and all eight occupants were injured, three seriously.
Probable cause:
Occurrence #1: in flight encounter with weather
Phase of operation: approach - iaf to faf/outer marker (ifr)
----------
Occurrence #2: in flight collision with terrain/water
Phase of operation: approach - faf/outer marker to threshold (ifr)
Findings
1. (c) minimum descent altitude - below - pilot in command
2. (f) anxiety/apprehension - pilot in command
3. (c) descent - not corrected - pilot in command
4. (f) missed approach - not performed - pilot in command
Final Report:

Crash of a Fokker F28 Fellowship 3000 in Florencia: 46 killed

Date & Time: Mar 28, 1985 at 0950 LT
Type of aircraft:
Fokker F28 Fellowship
Operator:
Registration:
FAC-1140
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Bogotá – Neiva – San Vicente del Caguán – Florencia
MSN:
11165
YOM:
1981
Location:
Florencia
Caquetá
Country:
Colombia
Region:
South America
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
40
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
46
Aircraft flight hours:
1327
Aircraft flight cycles:
2288
Circumstances:
En route from San Vicente del Caguán to Florencia, the last leg of the trip, the crew was informed that the Florencia-Gustavo Artunduaga Paredes Airport was closed to traffic due to insufficient visibility caused by dense fog. Nevertheless, the crew attempted an approach and initiated a descent. The last radio contact was recorded 10 minutes prior to the accident when the aircraft was at an altitude of 3,600 feet. On final, the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain shrouded in clouds and located 15 km from the airport. The aircraft was totally destroyed upon impact and all 46 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The accident was the consequence of a controlled flight into terrain after the crew decided to continue the approach in below-minima weather conditions.

Crash of a Fokker F27 Friendship 600 in Giallo

Date & Time: Mar 6, 1985
Type of aircraft:
Fokker F27 Friendship
Operator:
Registration:
5A-DLR
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
MSN:
10647
YOM:
1983
Location:
Giallo
Al Wahat (الواحات)
Country:
Libya
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The runway 18/36 was closed to traffic due to maintenance and the surface on the south part was removed. Only the runway 09/27 was available for traffic. For unknown reasons (poor flight preparation, misunderstanding or poor crew coordination), the aircraft landed on the south part of the runway 18/36. In the center of the runway, the aircraft struck a two meters trench. Upon impact, the left main gear collapsed and the aircraft came to rest on its belly. There were no casualties and the aircraft was written off.
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