Landing (descent or approach)

The captain was making a VFR landing approach to a remote mining airstrip in a modified Douglas DC-4 airplane at the end of a cross-country nonscheduled cargo flight. The modified airplane had a raised cockpit above the fuselage to accommodate an upward swinging nose door. During the landing flare/touchdown, the airplane undershot the runway threshold, and right main landing gear struck the lip of the runway. The right main landing gear was torn off, which allowed the nose and right wing to collide with the runway surface. The right wing was torn off the fuselage and caught fire. The fuselage, containing the cargo of fuel bladders, slid to a stop and rolled about 90 degrees to the left. The pilot indicated that due to the additional cockpit height of the modified airplane, versus a standard Douglas DC-4 airplane, the airplane was lower than he perceived.

The Twin Otter departed Iquitos Airport at 1137LT on a flight to Pucallpa with intermediate stops in Requena, Orellana, Pampa Hermosa and Contamana. While descending to Pampa Hermosa in marginal weather conditions, the aircraft crashed in a mountainous area located few km from the airport. Seven passengers were rescued while 13 other occupants were killed.

The aircraft, with 3 crew members and 37 passengers on board, was operating as Air Canada Jazz Flight 8911 from Moncton, New Brunswick, to Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Ontario. At 1235 eastern daylight time, the aircraft landed on Runway 06R with a 90º crosswind from the left, gusting from 13 to 23 knots. The aircraft first contacted the runway in a left-wing-down sideslip. The left main landing gear struck the runway first and the aircraft sustained a sharp lateral side load before bouncing. Once airborne again, the flight and ground spoilers deployed and the aircraft landed hard. Both main landing gear trunnion fittings failed and the landing gear collapsed. The aircraft remained upright, supported by the landing gear struts and wheels. The aircraft slid down the runway and exited via a taxiway, where the passengers deplaned. There was no fire. There were no injuries to the crew; some passengers reported minor injuries as a result of the hard landing.

Following an uneventful flight, the pilot started the approach to Goroka Airport in poor weather conditions. After landing on runway 17R, the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran and came to rest few dozen metres further. All four occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Radar data indicated that the airplane descended on a straight track from flight level (FL) 380 in accordance with the pilot's clearance to descend to 13,000 feet and begin the VOR (very high frequency omni-directional radio range) approach to the destination airport. The last transmission from the pilot was an acknowledgment of the cancellation of radar service and an instruction to switch to the airport advisory frequency. At that time, the airplane was at a mode C reported altitude of 14,000 feet. The airplane maintained a steady descent rate for the next minute and leveled off at 13,000 feet. About 2 1/2 minutes later, the airplane began a turn to the right to head outbound for the procedure turn on the approach and descended to 12,900 feet. The approach procedure specified a minimum altitude of 8,200 feet in the procedure turn. The airplane lost 1,600 feet in the next 10 seconds, and this was the last radar contact. A witness working in his office at the airport heard a loud engine noise, and then a “plop” noise. He said that the engine noise was loud, then softer, and then loud again. He heard it for 3 to 5 seconds. Another witness saw an airplane below the cloud bases that was turning to the right with a nose low pitch attitude of about 75 to 80 degrees. It made six to seven turns before it disappeared from sight behind terrain, and the radius of the turn got tighter as the airplane descended. Examination of the airframe, systems, and engines revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Anti-ice fluid was on the leading edges of the wing and tail anti-ice panels. An Airmen’s Meteorological Information (AIRMET) in effect for an area that included the accident site noted that the freezing level was from 4,000 to 10,000 feet with the potential for icing from the freezing level to 20,000 feet.

The twin engine aircraft departed Ogle on a schedule service to Kato, Kopinang and Mahdia. At Kato Airport, the pilot and passengers should wait more than two hours for weather improvement. The aircraft departed Kato at 1345LT on the leg to Kopinang with four passengers, two adults, a five-year old boy and an infant. Twenty minutes later, while on approach to Kopinang, the aircraft descended into trees and crashed in a dense wooded area located few km from the airfield. The wreckage was found few hours later. Two passengers were seriously injured while the pilot and two passengers including the infant were killed.

The pilot and the passenger, a photographer, departed Vancouver at 0911LT with 5.5 hours of fuel to conduct a VFR aerial photographic flight over the Arrow Lakes area. At 1420LT, the aircraft entered the circuit at Revelstoke Airport to refuel and to allow the photographer to change camera film. The pilot reportedly selected the landing gear down as the aircraft turned base and heard the gear clunk into position. When the aircraft turned final however, the red in-transit light was illuminated and the nose gear was not visible in the mirror. The pilot selected the gear lever up and down a couple of times but the gear did not extend. When the pilot advanced the throttles to conduct an overshoot, both engines surged and sputtered. The pilot retarded the throttles and conducted a gear-up landing in a grassy area off the end of runway 30. During the landing, the dry 8-inch high grass caught fire. Both occupants escaped from the aircraft that was destroyed by ground fire.

Following an uneventful flight (service UP353) from Nassau, the crew started the descent to Governor’s Harbour. After landing on runway 15, the left main gear collapsed. The aircraft slid for few dozen metres then turn slightly to the left and came to rest on the main runway. All 51 occupants evacuated safely, nevertheless, few passengers suffered minor injuries. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The aircraft ran off runway 30 at the Casas de los Pinos aerodrome while landing. The aircraft, used for parachuting operations, was making a reconnaissance flight before the parachuting flights, which were scheduled for later. According to the pilot's statement, during the flare, and before touching down, a gust of wind lifted the left wing. The pilot used left rudder and tilt to try to level the aircraft, but could not keep it from exiting the runway. As stated by the pilot, the approach was performed without flaps, at a speed of 70 knots and with the aft gear locked. The aircraft ended up 25 metres from the edge of the runway on a heading of 190°, resting on its lower fuselage, which was damaged along its underside, as were the left aileron and the horizontal stabilizer. The right main landing gear was bent outward, the left gear had detached and was 30 metres away from the aircraft, and the propeller had detached at the reduction gearbox and was next to the aft landing gear to the left of the aircraft. Both occupants were able to exit the aircraft under their own power. The pilot received a slight injury to his chin and the passenger was unhurt.

On 9 April 2007, at 1703 Western Standard Time (WST), the main landing gear from a Beech Super King Air 200 aircraft, registered VH-SGT, collapsed on landing at Perth airport. Approximately two hours earlier, the aircraft was chartered to fly from Perth to Mount Hale, WA when shortly after takeoff from Perth the aircraft experienced a malfunction of the landing gear system. The main wheels and nose gear had become jammed and were unable to fully retract when selected up by the pilot. The pilot completed the emergency checklist actions contained in the Aircraft Flight Manual, but was unable to retract or extend the gear using either the automated control or the manual emergency system. The pilot then requested assistance from a passenger to operate the manual emergency extension system. The landing gear remained jammed despite the additional force applied to the lever from the passenger. The pilot contacted air traffic services and requested further assistance from company engineering personnel to visually assess the extension state of the landing gear. Two aerodrome passes were completed throughout the troubleshooting exercise and the pilot remained in radio contact with both groups during this phase. Following the flyovers and after holding over Rottnest Island at 5,000 ft for a period of approximately two hours, the pilot flew the King Air back to Perth airport. With the gear still jammed in the partially retracted position, both the left and right main landing gear assemblies collapsed after the aircraft touched down on Runway 24. The aircraft was substantially damaged as a result of the collapse (Figure 1). The airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (RFF) services and other relevant agencies had been alerted and were waiting in response when the King Air landed. No injuries were sustained by the pilot or any of the nine passengers on board.