Scheduled Revenue Flight

The aircraft departed Fort Norman at 16:51 and arrived overhead Fort Franklin at approximately 17:15. Because Fort Franklin was shrouded in fog, a local resident contacted the pilot on a portable VHF transceiver and advised him that there was little or no visibility. The pilot replied that he did not think he would be able to land. The resident drove to the airstrip and contacted the pilot again when he heard the aircraft returning. He advised the pilot that visibility was 200-300 feet. The pilot then asked if this was the vertical or horizontal visibility. At that moment the Twin Otter struck a 200-foot-high telecommunications tower while in controlled level fight. Part of the right wing broke off and the aircraft slowly rolled over before striking the ground. The decision of the pilot to continue the approach in foggy weather were possibly influenced by the effects of stress and a greater than usual personal need to complete the flight. The stress was probably caused by the fact that the pilot had been involved in four accidents since March 1984. Although he was a very experienced pilot, his previous employer terminated his employment on 31 August 1984. In their opinion, his ability to make operational decisions was in question. The pilot was hired by Nahanni Air Services one month later.

En route, the engine failed due to carburetor icing. The crew attempted an emergency landing in the taïga. There were no casualties while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The normal fuel load for the flight was 1,500 lbs, but with a forecast tail wind and an estimated flight time for only 1+10, the crew accepted the lower indicated (950 lb) fuel load. The flight was uneventful until an indication of 250 lbs per side, then the fuel 'seemed to dissipate faster.' With an indication of 150 lbs on downwind, the copilot recommended declaring an emergency. The captain's response was to ask ATC for the anticipated length of the downwind leg. He was told 20 miles. Priority handling was requested, but was only available for a declared emergency. The approach was continued with normal handling for approximately 10 minutes. At 1608:39, the crew declared an emergency, then reported the aircraft was out of fuel. It crash landed on rough terrain, short of runway 08. An exam revealed fuel sensors had been improperly installed (interchanged between the inboard and outboard tanks). Thus the gages indicated about 180 lbs more than the approximately 763 lbs that was actually aboard at takeoff. A special 500 hour inspection of the entire fuel system was made on 7/8/84 using the 'wet' method, but only the capacitance method checks each individual sensor. All 11 occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

For unknown reasons, the twin engine aircraft belly landed at Vienna-Schwechat Airport. All 11 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

En route from Kinshasa to Tshikapa, one of the engine failed. The crew decided to divert to Kandala Airstrip, southeast of Bandundu province. After landing on a small airfield, the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance, overran and crashed in flames. Six passengers were injured while 30 other occupants were killed.

Shortly after takeoff, both engines lost power and a wheels up landing was made in an open field. The aircraft was destroyed by impact and fire. An investigation revealed that the aircraft had been refuel with Jet-A fuel rather than 100 low lead avgas. The lineman had inadvertently used the Jet-A fuel truck which was identical to the Avgas truck except for a decal, appx 4' by 16', which identified the type of fuel. The lineman stated that his training consisted of approximately 30 minutes of reading the company maintenance manual on how to refuel the different company aircraft, then was given on-the-job training for a brief time. When he went to refuel N89PB prior to the accident flight, he went to the parking space where the Avgas truck was normally parked, but on that occasion, the Jet-A fuel truck was there.

En route from Tabubil to Telefomin, the twin engine aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances on Mt Musaka. Two passengers were seriously injured while 9 other occupants were killed.

Crashed in unknown circumstances.

While taxiing at Douala Airport, an explosion occurred on the left hand side. The crew stopped the aircraft on the taxiway and started an emergency evacuation. 94 occupants were wounded while 20 others were uninjured. Unfortunately, two passengers died by asphyxia.

Wings West Airlines Flight 628, a commuter flight, departed Los Angeles for San Francisco, with scheduled en route stops at Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo. At 11:10, Flight 628 left the gate at San Luis Obispo. The weather at the time was essentially clear and the visibility was 15 miles. At 11:16, after taking off from runway 29, Flight 628 called the Los Angeles ARTCC and reported that it was climbing through 2,700 feet 'IFR to San Francisco.' At 11:17:23, the Los Angeles ARTCC’s radar controller cleared Flight 628 to the San Francisco airport, as filed, to climb and maintain 7,000 feet. At 11:17:38 the aircraft collided head-on with Rockwell Commander N112SM at 3,400 feet. This single-engined aircraft had departed Paso Robles Airport on a training flight with two pilots on board. Nll2SM was flying in visual meteorological conditions and under VFR in the vicinity of the San Luis Obispo Airport just before the collision.