Date & Time:
Jan 15, 1981 at 1030 LT
Type of aircraft:
Breguet Bre.1150 Atlantic
Operator:
Registration:
255
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Survey / Patrol / Reconnaissance
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Valkenburg - Valkenburg
MSN:
62
Country:
World
Region:
World
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
8
Pax fatalities:
3
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Valkenburg Airbase and was engaged in a maritime patrol flight over the Atlantic, shadowing a Soviet 'Kiev Class' Navy ship. En route, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with blizzard, low visibility, turbulences, strong winds and 30 feet waves. At 0958, the crew declared an emergency and was forced to ditch the aircraft about 185 km west of the Hebrides Islands. The crew of a RAF Sea King arrived on scene about two hours later and was able to evacuate nine injured people while three others were killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the airplane suffered control problems following the failure of a control rod in the horizontal stabilizer.
