Landing (descent or approach)

The airplane was completing local skydiving flights out from Piotrków Trybunalski Airport located 45 km southeast from Łodz. After 20 skydivers have been dropped, the crew was returning to the airport when, on descend, the airplane went out of control and crashed in a near vertical attitude in a field. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and both occupants were killed.

The pilot of the single-engine airplane was operating in the airport traffic pattern and had been making position reports on the airport’s common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). The pilot of the multi-engine airplane made an initial radio call on the CTAF 10 miles from the airport, announcing his intention to perform a straight-in approach for landing. Both pilots continued to make appropriate position reports, but did not communicate with each other until the multi engine airplane was about one mile from the airport and the single-engine airplane had turned onto the base leg of the traffic pattern for landing. Realizing that the multi-engine airplane was converging upon him, the pilot of the single-engine airplane announced a go-around, and the airplanes collided on final approach for the runway about 150 ft above ground level (agl). Examination of the airplanes revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The multi-engine airplane’s wing flaps and landing gear were both retracted at the accident site, consistent with the pilot’s failure to configure the airplane for landing, and flight track information indicated that the pilot maintained a ground speed of about 180 knots throughout the approach until the collision occurred, which may have reduced the time available for him to see and avoid the single engine airplane. The toxicology report for the pilot of the single-engine airplane revealed THC, metabolites for THC, metabolites for cocaine, and ketamine; the low amounts of each drug were not considered causal to the accident. The toxicology report for the multi-engine airplane pilot revealed THC, and metabolites of THC; the low amounts of each drug were not considered causal to the accident.

The twin engine airplane was completing an illegal/contraband flight from Colombia. After entering illegally the Mexican airspace, the airplane was tracked by two Embraer ERJ-145 and three UH-60 Black Hawk of the Mexican Air Force. The crew landed in a prairie located near La Libertad, Campeche. Upon touchdown, the airplane lost its undercarriage and slid for few dozen metres before hitting a person on ground and coming to rest. All occupants and people who were supposed to take delivery of the load fled the scene before the police arrived. The person apparently hit by a propeller was killed. A load of 460 kg of cocaine was found in the cabin. The airplane was operated with the false registration N325FA.

The aircraft departed Goiânia-Nacional de Aviação Airport Runway 14 at 1012LT on a local test flight with three crew members on board. After reaching FL340, several tests were completed then the crew made a high speed descent before landing on runway 32. After touchdown and a course of about 700 metres, the airplane veered off runway to the right, collided with a concrete wall, lost its nose gear and came to rest near the perimeter fence. All three occupants evacuated safely.

Upon landing at Mogadishu-Aden Abdulle Airport runway 05, the airplane went out of control, veered off runway, lost its left wing and crashed upside down, bursting into flames. The fire was quickly extinguished and all 36 occupants evacuated, three passengers suffered minor injuries.

On July 17, 2022, about 1204 pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-46-350P airplane, N97CX, and a Cessna 172N airplane, N160RA, were destroyed when they were involved in an accident near Las Vegas, Nevada. The two pilots in the PA-46, and the flight instructor and student pilot in the Cessna 172, were fatally injured. The PA-46 was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight, and the Cessna 172 was operated as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 instructional flight. Both airplanes were maneuvering to land at North Las Vegas Airport (VGT), Las Vegas Nevada, when the accident occurred. N97CX had been instructed by air traffic control (ATC) to fly left traffic for runway 30L and N160RA had been instructed to fly right traffic for runway 30R. The airplanes collided about 0.25 nautical miles from the approach end of runway 30R. Figure 1 shows a simplified flight path diagram for the accident flights based on Federal Aviation Administration Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) data. N97CX was operating as an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight and had departed from Coeur d'Alene Airport - Pappy Boyington Field (COE), Coeur d'Alene, Idaho about 0943, destined for VGT. N160RA was operating as a visual flight rules (VFR) training flight at VGT. N160RA was in the VFR traffic pattern for runway 30R, flying a right-hand traffic pattern and communicating with the VGT local controller. N97CX was inbound from the north on an IFR flight plan from COE. At 1156:08, the Nellis Radar Approach Control air traffic controller cleared N97CX for the visual approach and instructed the pilot to overfly VGT at midfield for left traffic to runway 30L. Air traffic control responsibility for the flight was transferred from Nellis Radar Approach Control to VGT at 1158:26. At 1158:43, the pilot of N97CX contacted the VGT local controller and reported “descending out of 7,600 feet msl for landing on three zero left and ah Nellis said to cross midfield.” The VGT local controller responded, “continue for three zero left.” The pilot acknowledged and stated, “okay continue for runway three zero left nine seven charlie x-ray we will cross over midfield.” At 1200:03, the pilot of N160RA requested a “short approach.” The VGT local controller transmitted “zero romeo alpha short approach approved runway three zero right cleared for the option,” which was acknowledged by N160RA. This information is preliminary and subject to change. At 1201:36, the VGT local controller transmitted “november seven charlie x-ray runway three zero left cleared to land.” The pilot of N97CX responded “three zero left cleared to land nine seven charlie x-ray.” At 1201:57, the VGT local controller transmitted “seven charlie x-ray I think I said it right runway three zero left seven charlie x-ray runway three zero left.” At 1202:02 the pilot of N97CX transmitted “yeah affirmative runway three zero left that’s what i heard nine seven charlie x-ray”. There were no further transmissions from either airplane. Examination of N97CX revealed that the airplane impacted in a nose low, right wing down attitude. The landing gear was down, and the right main landing gear was displaced outboard. The right wing displayed an impact separation around wing station (WS) 93. The right inboard wing section remained attached to the fuselage but was canted aft. The right wing flap was fractured about midspan; the inboard section remained attached to the wing and was found in the extended position. The outboard half of the flap was found about 10 ft forward of the right wing. The right wing leading edge displayed a series of crush impressions to the leading edge about 2.5 ft outboard of the wing root. The impressions contained flakes of green primer, and cuts to the de-ice boot. The outboard right wing section remained attached to the inboard wing by the aileron control cables. The aileron remained attached to the outboard wing section but was impact damaged. The outboard leading edge was crushed up and aft. The right wingtip fairing and pitot tube were also impact separated. Longitudinal scratches were visible along the right side of the fuselage. Examination of N160RA revealed that, the airplane had impacted terrain in a left-wing and nose-low attitude before coming to rest inverted on a 304°magnetic heading. Both inboard portions of the wings sustained thermal damage in the areas surrounding the fuel tanks, and the cabin and fuselage, except for the cabin roof, were consumed by a post-impact fire. Blue paint transfer was observed on the lower surface of the separated outboard left wing and the lower surface of the left wing flap. Black de-ice boot material transfer was observed on the lower surface of the separated outboard left wing, the lower surface of the attached portion of the left wing at approximately WS 100, and for an approximate 5 ft long distance outboard of the strut attach point, along the lower leading edge. About 4 ft of the left wing, which included the left aileron, was separated from the left wing, and was found on the edge of a culvert just south of the main wreckage. The left outboard wing section aft of the forward spar was found to be separated near the aileron-flap junction. The left wing flap was found to be separated from the wing.

The four engine airplane departed Niš at 2036LT on a cargo flight to Amman, carrying eight crew members and a load of 12 tons of various goods. Bound to the southeast over the Aegean Sea, the crew was cruising at FL210 when they reported technical problems. Cleared to divert to Kavala Airport, the pilot made a 180 turn and started the descent. On approach to Kavala Airport at night with engine n°4 on fire, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed at a speed of 202 knots in an agricultural zone located just out of the village of Eleftheroupolis, bursting into flames. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all eight occupants were killed. The wreckage was found 12 km west of Kavala Airport. According to the Serbian Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic, the plane was carrying a load of 11-12 tons of armaments, including flare mortar mines, bound for Bangladesh.

The single engine airplane was engaged in a local flight in Prochookopskaya. While attempting to land at night, the airplane collided with the cables of a power line and crashed in a wooded area, coming to rest upside down. The wreckage was found some 10 km north of the Armavir Airport. Both occupants were killed.

While approaching Charallave-Óscar Machado Zuloaga Airport, the crew encountered technical problems (apparently with the reversers) and declared an emergency. The captain initiated a go around procedure and completed a circuit south of the airport. During a second approach, the airplane deviated from the approach path to the south and continued until it impacted the top of a hill located 8 km south of the airport. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all six occupants were killed, among them Christian Toni, President of the Estudiantes de Mérida football club.

Following an uneventful flight from Santo Domingo-Las Américas Airport, the crew was cleared to land on runway 09 at Miami-Intl Airport. The first officer recalled that the airplane touched down smoothly on the right and then the left main landing gear and that the airplane was slightly to the right of the centerline, which he corrected after touching down. Shortly afterward, the flight crew felt a vibration on the left side of the airplane. The vibration increased, and the airplane veered to the left despite the crew’s efforts to maintain the airplane on the runway centerline. The airplane subsequently departed the paved runway surface and impacted the glideslope equipment building for runway 30, which was located to the left of runway 09, causing the nose landing gear and the right main landing gear to collapse. A post crash fire began on the right wing after the fuel tank on that wing was breached, after which the airplane came to a stop. Nevertheless, fire was quickly extinguished and all 140 occupants evacuated safely, among them four passengers were taken to Jackson Hospital.