Date & Time:
Nov 30, 1988 at 0720 LT
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter
Operator:
Aero Club Libya
Registration:
5A-DDD
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Hamada al Hamra - Tripoli
MSN:
670
YOM:
1980
Country:
Libya
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
2
Pax on board:
12
Pax fatalities:
12
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
14
Circumstances:
The twin engine aircraft departed Hamada al Hamra Airport at 0705LT bound for Tripoli carrying two pilots and 12 employees of the Arabian Gulf Oil Company and Halliburton Company. Few minutes after takeoff, the crew was instructed to return because military activity en route was ongoing. Unfortunately, the visibility at Hamada al Hamra Airport dropped due to fog. Following a short holding circuit, the crew attempted to land when, on short final, the aircraft struck successively a concrete pipeline bridge and a wooden electrical pylon then crashed few hundred meters short of runway, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed and all 14 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
It is possible that the pilot-in-command suffered an optical illusion on short final and mistook the the concrete pipeline bridge for the runway.
