Landing (descent or approach)

Witnesses reported hearing an airplane engine at night, at high power for about 5 seconds followed by impact. They went to the scene and found the airplane on the left side of the approach end of runway 03, on fire. The pilot was removed and the fire was extinguished. The airplane had struck a runway threshold light located about 25 feet to the left side of the runway, and slid about 100 feet into trees, angling away from the runway on a heading of 360 degrees. The outboard 5 feet of the left wing was bent up about 20 degrees. Ground scars were found corresponding to the positions of the left, right, and nose landing gears, all of which had collapsed. The inboard section of the left wing came to rest on the nose of the airplane. The propeller blades were deformed with "S" bending and leading edge gouges. Flight control continuity was verified to the rudder and elevator. The aileron control cables had separated with puffed ends. All separations occurred at other than attach points. The pilot had received head injuries and has no memory of the accident.

The airplane departed Yekaterinburg Airport on a regular schedule flight (XF352) to Vladivostok with an intermediate stop at Irkutsk. The flight departed Yekaterinburg at 1947LT and climbed to the assigned cruising altitude of 10,100 metres. Some three hours into the flight, at 0150LT, the crew started the descent to Irkutsk Intl Airport. The copilot was the pilot-in-command. At 0205LT, the crew reported at 2,100 metres with the runway in sight. At this time, the aircraft' speed was 540 km/h. The maximum speed at which the landing gear may be lowered was 400 km/h. At 0206:56 the airplane leveled off at 900 metres with an airspeed still at 420 km/h. The first officer asked for gear down and the speed further decreased to 395 km/h with engines at idle. When the gear was down and locked, the airplane entered a left bank angle of 20-23°. The airspeed continued to drop to 365 km/h while the recommended speed was 370 km/h at this stage of the flight. Power was added slowly. This was only just sufficient for maintaining an altitude of 850 metres at 355-360 km/h. At 0207:46, while still in the left hand turn, the angle of attack increased to 16,5° because the autopilot attempted to maintain altitude with a decreasing speed. An aural warning sounded, informing the crew about a high angle of attack. The first officer attempted to correct this by using the control column and disconnected the autopilot. Because he deflected the control column to the left, the left bank increased to the maximum permissible value of -30° to -44°, and then to -48°. In a nose down attitude, the speed increased to 400 km/h then the aircraft entered clouds. By night, the crew lost visual contact with the ground and was not able to observe the natural horizon. In such conditions, the captain took over controls but alternately deflected the steering wheel to the left and right. An intensive deflection of steering control to the right caused a positive angular acceleration of +4,4° per second. The captain reacted by deflecting the steering wheel to the left again. The first officer now realized that the airplane was in a severe left bank of -45° and indicated that they should be rolling to the right. Because of an increase in vertical descent rate of 20 metres per seconds, one of the crew members pulled the control column. The airplane pitched up rapidly then entered a stall and a subsequent flat spin before crashing in an open field 22 seconds later. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 145 occupants were killed.

The pilot took off from Annemasse Airfield with nine skydivers on board. After dropping them at FL125, five to six seconds after initiating the descent, he felt strong vibrations. He reduced speed and saw the right out aileron separating from the wing. The pilot managed to maintain control of the aircraft by keeping the stick fully to the right and used the rudders to return to his departure aerodrome. He landed the airplane on the grass near the paved runway 30. During a hard landing, the right main landing gear broke off and damaged the fuselage. The pilot escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The Embraer EMB-110P1 Bandeirante, VH-OZG, departed from Sydney Kingsford Smith international airport at 0855 on 25 June 2001, on a single-pilot instrument flight rules (IFR) charter flight to Griffith. The nine occupants on board the aircraft included the pilot and eight passengers. At about 0945, while maintaining an altitude of 10,000 ft, the master caution light illuminated. At the same time, the multiple alarm panel ‘GENERATOR 2’ (right generator) warning light also illuminated, indicating that the generator was no longer supplying power to the main electrical bus bar. After resetting the generator and monitoring its output, the pilot was satisfied that it was operating normally. A short time later, the master warning light illuminated again. A number of circuit breakers tripped, accompanied by multiple master alarm panel warnings. The red ‘FIRE’ warning light on the right engine fire extinguisher ‘T’ handle also illuminated, accompanied by the aural fire alarm warning. The pilot reported that after silencing the aural fire alarm, he carried out the engine fire emergency checklist actions. However, he was unable to select the fuel cut-off position with the right fuel condition lever, despite overriding the locking mechanism using his left thumb while attempting to operate the lever with his right hand. He also reported that the propeller lever did not remain in the feathered detent, but moved forward, as if spring-loaded, to an intermediate position. After unsuccessfully attempting to select fuel cut-off with the right fuel condition lever, or feather the right propeller with the propeller lever, the pilot pulled the right ‘T’ handle to discharge the fire bottle. The amber discharge light illuminated and a short time later the fire alarm sounded again. Passengers reported seeing lights illuminated on the multiple alarm panel and heard the sound of a continuous fire alarm in the cockpit. At 0956, the pilot notified air traffic services (ATS) that there was a ‘problem’ with the aircraft, but did not specify the nature of that problem. Almost immediately the pilot transmitted a PAN radio call and advised ATS that there was a fire on board the aircraft. The nearest aerodromes for an emergency landing were not available due to fog, and the pilot decided to divert to Young, which was about 35 NM to the south east of the aircraft’s position at that time. The pilot advised ATS that the fire was extinguished, and that he was diverting the aircraft to Young. Two minutes later, the pilot repeated his advice to ATS stating that a fire in the right engine had been extinguished, and requested emergency services for the aircraft’s arrival at Young. The pilot informed one of the passengers that there was an engine fire warning, and that they would be landing at Young. The passengers subsequently reported seeing flames in the right engine nacelle and white smoke streaming from under the wing. Smoke had also started to enter the cabin in the vicinity of the wing root. The pilot subsequently reported that he had selected the master switch on the air conditioning control panel to the ‘vent’ position, and that he had opened the left direct vision window in an attempt to eliminate smoke from the cabin. When that did not appear to have any effect he closed the direct vision window. The pilot of another aircraft reported to ATS that Young was clear, but there were fog patches to the north. On arrival at Young, however, the pilot of the Bandeirante was unable to land the aircraft because of fog, and advised ATS that he was proceeding to Cootamundra, 27 NM to the south southwest of Young. The crew of an overflying airliner informed ATS that Cootamundra was clear of fog. ATS confirmed that advice by telephoning an aircraft operator at Cootamundra aerodrome. At 1017 thick smoke entered the cabin and the pilot transmitted a MAYDAY. He reported that the aircraft was 9 NM from Cootamundra, and ATS informed him that the aerodrome was clear of fog. The pilot advised that he was flying in visual conditions and that there was a serious fire on board. No further radio transmissions were heard from the aircraft. At 1021, approximately 25 minutes after first reporting a fire, the pilot made an approach to land on runway 16 at Cootamundra. He reported that when he selected the landing gear down on late final there was no indication that the gear had extended. The pilot reported that he did not have sufficient time to extend the gear manually using the emergency procedure because he was anxious to get the aircraft on the ground as quickly as possible. Unaware that the right main landing gear had extended the pilot advised the passengers to prepare for a ‘belly’ landing. He lowered full flap, selected the propeller levers to the feathered position and the condition levers to fuel cut-off. The aircraft landed with only the right main landing gear extended. The right main wheel touched down about 260 m beyond the runway threshold, about one metre from the right edge of the runway. During the landing roll the aircraft settled on the nose and the left engine nacelle and skidded for approximately 450 m before veering left off the bitumen. The soft grass surface swung the aircraft sharply left, and it came to a stop on the grass flight strip east of the runway, almost on a reciprocal heading. The pilot and passengers were uninjured, and vacated the aircraft through the cabin door and left overwing emergency exit. Personnel from a maintenance organisation at the aerodrome extinguished the fire in the right engine nacelle using portable fire extinguishers.

On approach to Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion Intl Airport, the right main gear remained stuck in its wheel well. The crew informed ATC about the situation and continued the approach. After touchdown, the aircraft slid for few dozen metres then veered off runway to the right and came to rest. All 42 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

After takeoff from Jayapura-Sentani Airport, while climbing, the crew informed ATC about engine problems and was cleared for an immediate return. Following a 180 turn, the crew initiated an approach to runway 30. After touchdown, the crew started the braking procedure and reduced the engine power when a technical problem occurred on the right engine. The aircraft went out of control, veered off runway to the left, collided with a drainage ditch and came to rest against palm trees located 72 metres to the left of the runway centerline and 1,050 metres from the runway threshold. 18 occupants were injured and a passenger was killed. The aircraft was written off.

The twin engine aircraft departed Alta Airport at 1522LT on a regular schedule service to Båtsfjord, carrying 24 passengers and a crew of three. Following an uneventful flight, the crew started a LOC/DME approach to runway 21. Shortly after passing the missed approach point, the pilot-in-command lost visual contact with the runway so the captain took over controls and continued the approach. The airplane became unstable and the crew encountered control problems due to difficulties to disengage the autopilot system. This caused the aircraft to lose height during the last segment and it landed hard, causing the right main gear to collapse upon impact. The aircraft slid for few dozen metres then veered off runway to the right and came to rest in a grassy area 23 metres to the right of the runway. All 27 occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

During a forced landing the left wing struck a light standard pole, and the airplane came to rest inverted after colliding with a fence. The purpose of the flight was to conduct recurrent training to include emergency procedures. On the accident flight the certified flight instructor (CFI) initiated a simulated engine failure after takeoff during the initial climb out. The student advised the tower, and turned crosswind at 700 feet agl. The student set up for landing, which included lowering the landing gear and adding 10 degrees of flaps. On short final, descending through 400 feet agl, both the CFI and student realized they would not make the runway. Both pilot's advanced the throttle, to arrest the descent and perform a go-around. There was no corresponding response from the engine. During the final stages of the emergency descent, the pilot maneuvered the airplane to avoid a work crew at the airport boundary fence and the airplane collided with the light standard pole and a fence. An airframe and engine examination discovered no discrepancies with any system. Following documentation of the engine and related systems it was removed and installed in an instrumented engine test cell for a functional test. The engine started without hesitation and was operated for 44 minutes at various factory new engine acceptance test points. During acceleration response tests, technicians rapidly advanced the throttle to the full open position, and the engine accelerated with no hesitation. A second acceleration response test produced the same results. According to Textron Lycoming, there were no discrepancies that would have precluded the engine from being capable of producing power.

The Venezuelan registered Beech King Air C90 departed Caracas, Venezuela's Óscar Machado Zuloaga International Airport at 1516 eastern daylight time with a pilot and two passengers aboard, and flew to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Florida. The route of flight filed with air traffic control was: after departure, direct to Maiquetia, thence Amber Route-315 to Bimini, thence Bahama Route 57V to Fort Lauderdale. The {planned} flight level was 220, and the pilot stated that 7 hours 15 minutes of fuel was aboard. Immigration/customs general declaration papers found aboard the wreckage stated the flight's intended destination was Nassau, and the pilot's daughter stated he always stopped at Nassau for fuel on many previous trips. After 6 hours 6 minutes, the aircraft crashed into a highway abutment about 1,700 feet short of his intended landing runway at Fort Lauderdale with total accountable onboard fuel of 3 to 4 gallons. One passenger received fatal injuries, one passenger received serious injuries, and the pilot received serious injuries. Engine factory service center disassembly examination revealed that the engines and their components exhibited no evidence of any condition that would have precluded normal operation, precrash. No precrash abnormalities with the propellers, their respective components, or any other aircraft system component were noted. Type certification data sheets for the C90 state that the unusable fuel aboard is 24 lbs., (3.6 gallons of Jet-A fuel).

During a test flight, the airplane encountered an elevator system oscillation while in a high speed dive outside the normal operating envelope. The 17 second oscillation was recorded on the cockpit voice recorder and had an average frequency of 28 Hz. The aft elevator sector clevis (p/n 2331510-32) fractured due to reverse bending fatigue caused by vibration, resulting in a complete loss of elevator control. The flight crew reported that pitch control was established by using horizontal stabilizer pitch trim. The flightcrew stated that during final approach to runway 17 (13,337 feet by 200 feet, dry/asphalt) the aircraft's nose began to drop and that the flying pilot was unable to raise the nose using a combination of horizontal stabilizer trim and engine power. The aircraft landed short of the runway, striking an airport perimeter fence and a berm. The surface winds were from the south at 23 knots, gusting to 32 knots.