Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance

While performing a low-level law enforcement patrol flight, the pilot crossed a ridge and observed a parked vehicle. To investigate further, he lowered the flaps and descended to approximately 200 feet, into a canyon. The pilot made a second pass over the vehicle and initiated a right turn, during which the airplane encountered a tailwind that resulted in a rapid loss of airspeed and a descent. The pilot leveled the airplane and increased the power; however, the airplane was too slow and low to turn out of the canyon. As a result, the airplane stalled and impacted terrain. The pilot stated there were no preflight mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane.

The twin engine aircraft was engaged in a reconnaissance and survey mission over the southern Colombia territory, carrying six crew members. At 2306LT, the last radio contact was recorded with the crew. In unknown circumstances, while cruising at an altitude of 10,600 feet, the aircraft impacted terrain near Uribe. The wreckage was found four days later, on September 11. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all six occupants were killed.

The twin engine aircraft was chartered by the State of Coahuila to conduct a survey flight of the area around Piedras Negras following recent floods and damages caused by hurricane Alex. The aircraft departed Piedras Negras Airport at 0930LT bound to the northwest. En route, while performing an aerial inspection of the area around the La Fragua Lake, the aircraft went out of control and crashed in a field, bursting into flames. The wreckage was found 600 metres south of the La Fragua Dam, about 35 km northwest of Piedras Negras Airport. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire and all 8 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Juan Roberto Rendón, pilot,
Guillermo Ainsle Ibarra, copilot.
Passengers:
Horacio del Bosque Dávila, Coahuila's Secretary of Public works,
José Manuel Maldonado Maldonado, Mayor of Piedras Negras,
Ricardo Garza Bermea, Director of the Piedras Negras Civil Protection,
David Rey Chavira Jiménez,
Guillermo Ainsle Montemayor,
Alfonso Ainsle Montemayor.

The aircraft was engaged in a maritime patrol flight from USS Eisenhower cruising in the Oman Sea. While returning to the ship, the crew encountered technical problems and abandoned the aircraft that crashed in the sea. Three crew members were rescued while the fourth was not recovered.

While performing a SAR mission for a 12 foot boat that was missing since two days, the aircraft collided with a Bell AH-1 Suber Cobra operated by the US Marine Corps. Both machines crashed into the sea some 24 km off the San Clemente Island and all occupants were missing. SAR were abandoned on 01NOV2013 as no trace of the Hercules and the Cobra were found. It appears that the Cobra's crew was taking part of an exercise in an area reserved for training missions. At the time of the accident, the Cobra had its anticollision lights and IFF transponder switched off.

The twin engine aircraft departed Bagram AFB on a counter-narcoterrorism operation over the Nuristan province, carrying three crew members. In unknown circumstances, the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain. The wreckage was spotted 7 days later and the rescuers arrived on site Oct 27. The aircraft was destroyed and all three occupants were killed.
Crew:
CIV Randolph Bergquist,
CIV J. B. Anderson,
CIV Jeff Lehner.

The twin engine aircraft departed Port-au-Prince-Toussaint Louverture (ex François Duvalier) Airport on a border patrol mission on behalf of the MINUSTAH, the United Nations Mission for Stabilization in Haiti. On board were nine passengers and two pilots, among them Uruguayan and Jordan soldiers. In unknown circumstances, the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located some 20 km west of Fonds-Verrettes. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 11 occupants were killed.

While performing a maritime patrol flight, the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in the region of Long Apung. Five occupants were killed while four others were seriously injured.

On September 15, 2008 Cessna 421B, N7560Q, was substantially damaged after it collided with mountainous terrain approximately 28 miles northwest of Ojinaga, Mexico, near the border town of Presidio, Texas. The air transport rated pilot and the three passengers were fatally injured. The pilot contacted the Fort Worth Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS), Fort Worth, Texas, at 1016, approximately 15 minutes after he departed El Paso International Airport, El Paso, Texas, and filed a visual flight rules flight plan to Presidio, Texas. The pilot informed an AFSS specialist that he intended to enter Mexican airspace for the purpose of flying over the Luis Leon Dam, but had no intentions of landing in Mexico. The pilot did not request a weather briefing for the flight however, he was informed by the specialist that visual flight rules were not recommended due to mountain obscuration. Onboard the airplane were the pilot, the United States and Mexican Commissioners of the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC), and the Executive Director for the Rio Grande Council of Governments. The purpose of the flight was to assess Rio Grande flood conditions at Presidio-Ojinaga and to coordinate joint US-Mexican efforts with local officials to address flood control concerns in the area due to heavy inflows to the Rio Grande from reservoirs inside Mexico as a result of recent storms. The airplane wreckage was located on September 17, 2008, by the Marfa Sector of the US Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Division, on the west side of the Sierra Grande Mountains, at an approximate elevation of 6,500 feet mean sea level (msl). The airplane came to rest approximately 100-150 feet below the top of a ridgeline on a heading of 055 degrees along victor-airway V81.

The twin engine aircraft departed Sabang-Maimum Saleh airport at 1110LT on a maritime survey flight to Medan. About 15 minutes into the flight, the crew informed ATC about engine problems and elected to return to Sabang. On final approach in poor weather conditions, the aircraft crashed in the sea and sank about 200 metres offshore. Two people were rescued while five others were killed.