Flight

The single engine airplane departed Campinas-Campo de Amarais-Prefeito Francisco Amaral Airport on a flight to Belo Horizonte-Pampulha-Carlos Drummond de Andrade Airport. After takeoff, the pilot continued to the east when he apparently encountered adverse weather conditions. The airplane entered an uncontrolled descent, suffered an in-flight breakup, lost a wing and eventually crashed in a prairie located less than 3 km south of Itapeva. The airplane was totally destroyed and all seven occupants were killed.

The twin engine airplane departed Manchester-Boston Regional Airport Runway 06 at 0709LT on a cargo service (flight WIG1046) to Presque Isle. After takeoff, the airplane entered a left turn and climbed to 2,700 feet when the pilot reported problems to ATC. He followed several circuits over Manchester, Auburn and Merrimack with erratic courses and varying altitude and speed. Finally, the airplane entered a right turn and crashed in a forest located near Londonderry, about 8 km south of Manchester Airport. The accident occurred 17 minutes after departure. The pilot was seriously injured and the airplane was destroyed.

The airplane departed Moscow-Chkalovsky Airport on a flight to Belgorod, carrying 65 Ukrainian soldiers, three accompanying people and six crew members. The crew started the descent to Belgorod Airport when the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent, rolled to the left and eventually crashed in a snow covered field located in Yablonovo, about 55 km northeast of Belgorod Airport. The airplane disintegrated on impact and all 74 occupants were killed. The exact circumstances of the accident remains unclear as Russian Authorities claim that the airplane has been shot down, by error or voluntarily, by a Ukrainian missile. The 65 Ukrainian soldiers were transferred to Belgorod as part of a prisoner exchange program.
Crew:
Stanislav Bezzubkin, pilot,
Alexey Vysokin, copilot,
Andrey Piluev, flight engineer,
Sergey Zhitenev, technician,
Igor Sablinsky, radio operator.

The airplane departed U-Tapao Airport, Thailand, in the early morning, on an ambulance flight to Moscow-Zhukovsky Airport. Chartered by Gazpromavia, it was carrying four passengers and two crew members. A first fuel stop was made in Gaya, Bihar, and a second fuel stop was scheduled in Tashkent. After three hours and 45 minutes into the flight, while cruising at FL380 over the Afghan mountains, the crew declared an emergency and elected to divert to Kulob, southeast Tajikistan. Few minutes later, one of the engine failed, followed shortly later by the second one. In such conditions, the crew attempted an emergency landing when the airplane crashed on the slope of Mt Topkhana located in the province of Badakhshan, bursting into flames. Four people were rescued and two passengers were killed.

Coded 37 Red and operated by the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS-Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye sily Rossii), the airplane was engaged in a survey mission of the south Crimea area when it was apparently shot down by Ukrainian Forces and crashed into the Azov Sea off the city of Kyrylivka. It is believed that all 11 crew members have been killed.

The single engine airplane departed Pevek on a cargo flight to Polyarny, carrying two passengers, one pilot and a load of 150 kg of various goods. Approaching the destination, weather conditions deteriorated with heavy rain falls. In limited visibility, the airplane impacted the ground and crashed in the snow covered tundra few km from Polyarny. The wreckage was found few hours later and all three occupants were injured, the captain seriously. The airplane was a TR-301, a version of the AN-2 without the lower wings. Modification were performed by Tekhnoregion under MSN ТR301.21.004.

The twin engine airplane departed Sunshine Coast-Caloundra Airport at 0733LT on a flight to Pago Pago, US Samoa, with two people on board. About 45 minutes into the flight, while cruising at an approximate altitude of 12,000 feet, the pilot inform ATC about an engine failure and elected to return to Sunshine Coast. He made a 180 turn and reduced his altitude. About 45 minutes later, unable to reach his departure airport, the pilot ditched the airplane some 30 nautical miles east of Sunshine Coast. Both occupants found refuge in a dinghy and were quickly rescued. The airplane sank and was lost.

In the early afternoon, the twin engine airplane departed Toowoomba Airport on an aerial survey flight under callsign BDOG370 to Mount Isa with three people on board. The purpose of the flight was to conduct a survey mission of the area in case of bushfire. While cruising at an altitude of 28,000 feet, the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent. It reached a rate of descent of 9,600 feet per minute until it crashed in an uninhabited area located approximately 70 km southeast of Cloncurry. All three occupants were killed.

The pilot reported that before takeoff on the cross-country flight, the airplane contained 100 gallons of fuel, with 11 gallons in the header fuel tank, and the airplane’s automatic fuel transfer system was configured as per the checklist. No anomalies were noted during the engine start, takeoff, and initial climb. About 7 minutes into the flight and climbing through 12,000 ft mean sea level (msl), the engine sustained an abrupt loss of power that was confirmed by the loss of torque and engine compressor turbine rpm (Ng) speed. The pilot noted no cockpit warning or abnormal indications before the loss of engine power. The pilot declared an emergency and then executed a 180° turn back to the departure airport. The pilot attempted two engine restarts, and both were unsuccessful. Unable to make it back to the airport, the pilot executed an off airport forced landing. During the forced landing, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. A postaccident examination of the airframe, fuel system components, and functional engine test revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The fuel transfer pump switch was found in the manual position. The engine’s fuel was provided by the airframe header tank. Avionics data indicated that during the short flight, the header fuel tank quantity consistently decreased, and the airplane’s automatic fuel system did not continually resupply fuel to the header tank. Based on the available data, a functional engine test, and functional testing of the airplane’s fuel system, it is likely the pilot improperly configured the airplane’s fuel transfer system, which prevented the header fuel tank from automatically refilling during the flight and resulted in fuel starvation and total loss of engine power. Although the pilot reported that he had configured the airplane’s automatic fuel transfer system per the checklist, it is likely that the fuel transfer switch was in the manual or OFF position during the flight. In addition, the pilot did not properly monitor the header tank’s fuel quantity.

The single engine airplane departed Gap-Tallard Airport on a local skydiving mission, carrying 15 skydivers and one pilot. After all 15 skydivers jumped out, the pilot was returning to his departure point. This was the sixth flight of the day. The pilot started the descent then made a wide left turn to reach the final approach. At an altitude of 6,400 feet, in contrast to previous flights, the pilot turned right onto a south-westerly course and continued the descent in a straight line. At 1050LT, the plane collided head-on with the mountainside near the Pic de Crigne. The airplane disintegrated on impact and the pilot was killed.