Flight

Few minutes after takeoff from Vilyuisk Airport, on a schedule service (flight n° PI9977) to Kyubeinde-Ugulet, while cruising at an altitude of about 400 metres, the engine overheated and lost power while the oil pressure dropped. The crew decided to return to Vilyuisk when the engine failed shortly later. The captain attempted an emergency landing in a swampy area located 26 km northwest of Vilyuisk (at N63°54.584" E121°18.048"). The main wheels got stuck in soft ground, the engine was ripped off, and the aircraft came to rest, bursting into flames. Both pilots and all 9 passengers escaped uninjured and the aircraft was totally destroyed by fire.

The pilot was carrying out a local flight with a friend. The weather was good (CAVOK), with a westerly wind of about 12 to 15 kt. The passenger occupied the front cockpit and the pilot the rear. The engine started normally and the aircraft departed, climbing to an altitude of 1,200 ft. The pilot carried out two medium banked turns and a gentle wingover manoeuvre before entering another steep turn to the left. When established in the turn, the engine stopped and the aircraft entered a spin to the left. The pilot recovered from the spin but, due to the limited height available, could only pull out of the dive and carry out a forced landing in an isolated grass area, amongst trees and other obstacles. In doing so, the aircraft struck a ridge and furrow, which destroyed the landing gear and much of the forward fuselage. A member of the public witnessed the accident and called the emergency services, who recovered both occupants from the wreckage. The pilot and his passenger had suffered serious injuries and were transferred to hospital. There was no fire.The aircraft had recently been re-weighed. During that process, the fuel tank had been drained and the same fuel was then used to refill the tank. After that, the aircraft had flown some five hours, during which it had been refuelled twice at a licensed aerodrome. The second refuel had taken place prior to positioning the aircraft back to the private site from which the accident flight departed. It was reported that the engine had been consistently reliable. No reason for the engine failure was identified. The pilot considered that he had avoided a serious head injury because he was wearing a protective helmet. Also, he commented that he had since had discussions with others in the historic aircraft community regarding energy absorbing foam in seat pans and its potential for reducing the level of back injuries in the event of an accident.

The crew was completing a crop spraying mission in the region of Danfeng. While cruising at low altitude, the aircraft impacted tree tops, stalled and crashed in a wooded area. While the captain was seriously injured, the copilot was killed.

The crew was completing a training mission. In unknown circumstances, the single engine aircraft crashed in a prairie located near Mount Nicholas, between Queenstown and Te Anau, coming to rest upside down. Both pilots were seriously injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

The pilot reported that, while the float-equipped airplane was in cruise flight about 1,200 ft above ground level, the engine made a loud noise and lost partial power, so he maneuvered the airplane to land on a nearby lake. During the approach, the engine lost total power, and the airplane descended into an area of trees before reaching the lake, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The operator reported that the engine had been overhauled (zero-timed) 31 hours before the accident. A postaccident engine examination revealed metal fragments and heavy gouging damage to the rotating components within the crankcase. The bottom portion (crankshaft end) of the n°1 linkrod and its respective bushing were missing from the n°1 linkpin; the oil sump contained metal debris consistent with heavily damaged remnants of these (and other) components. The n°2 cylinder barrel and linkrod and the n°3 linkrod showed deformation to the left (in the direction of engine rotation). Based on the damage observed in the engine, it is likely that the event that initiated the engine failure involved either the the n°1 linkrod bushing or the bottom portion of the n°1 linkrod; however, the extensive damage to these components precluded determination of the failure mode.

The crew was completing a crop spraying flight in the Krasnoperekopsk District of the autonomous Republic of Crimea. While flying at a height of about 35-40 metres, the engine failed. The crew attempted an emergency landing in a rice paddy field near Pyatykhatki but the wheels got stuck in the soft ground and the aircraft nosed over, coming to rest upside down. While both occupants escaped uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The twin engine aircraft departed South Africa on a flight to Tanzania with intermediate stops in Tete and Lilongwe, carrying one passenger and one pilot. The aircraft was en route to Dar es-Salaam to perform a Lidar (Laser Imaging Detection And Ranging) mission. En route, the pilot encountered engine problems and elected to make an emergency landing. Upon landing in an open field, the aircraft lost its tail and crashed landed about 45 km southwest of Lilongwe. Both occupants were rescued and the aircraft was destroyed.

The crew was engaged in a crop spraying flight in Terenozek. While flying at low height, the pilot-in-command initiated a left turn when the aircraft crashed in a field, bursting into flames. The copilot was seriously injured and the captain was killed.

The single engine aircraft departed Khabarovsk on a charter flight to Samarga, carrying two pilots and seven fishermen flying to a fish camp. En route, the crew encountered engine problems and elected to return to Khabarovsk. Unable to maintain a safe altitude, the crew attempted to carry out an emergency landing when the airplane impacted trees and crashed in a wooded area, coming to rest in a small river. All nine occupants were injured, five of them seriously. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The aircraft departed the Dominican Republic for an international flight and no flight plan was filed. While cruising in the region of Jérémie, the twin engine aircraft hit a mountain some 30 km from Jérémie. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire and both occupants were killed. According to Dominican Authorities, the owner of the plane, a businessman, leased it to a couple from Honduras who were certainly performing an illegal flight.