Landing (descent or approach)

The airline transport rated pilot was returning an organ transplant nurse passenger to an uncontrolled, no facilities airport, with ground fog present about 0400 in the morning. The pilot had obtained two abbreviated preflight weather briefings while waiting for his passenger, and prior to departing at 0235. According to witnesses he attempted to land twice on runway 28, then he made an approach and attempted a landing on runway 10. Witnesses reported that the airport was engulfed in ground fog at the time of the approaches. They said that you could see straight up but not horizontally. The airplane collided with grape vineyard poles and canal/wash berms, about 250 feet short of the runway 10 displaced threshold. Approach charts for two airports with instrument approaches within 20 miles were found lying on the instrument panel glare shield. The passenger's car was parked at the uncontrolled airport.

Following an uneventful flight from Douala, the crew started the descent to Paris-Roissy-CDG Airport by night and poor weather conditions. After touchdown on the wet runway 09R, the crew started the braking procedure when the aircraft went out of control, veered to the right off runway, crossed a grassy area, lost its nose gear and came to rest between both taxiways Z6 and Z7. All 203 occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft christened 'Mount Cameroon' was damaged beyond repair due to severe damages in the electronic bay because the nose landing gear penetrated the fuselage.

The pilot, sole on board, was completing a delivery flight from South Africa to the US via Luanda and São Tomé. Upon landing at São Tomé Airport, the left main gear collapsed. The aircraft slid on its belly for few dozen metres and came to rest. The pilot was uninjured.

After landing on runway 12/30 which is 632 metres long, the twin engine aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran, lost its left wing and came to rest, bursting into flames. The pilot, sole on board, was slightly injured.

While approaching Warri Airport runway 06 following an uneventful flight from Benin City, the twin engine aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed near a refinery located near Jeddo, about 11 km west of the airport. All six occupants were killed, among them five Nigerian Army Officers.

This flight between Moscow and Batumi was operated by the Russian Air Force twice a month. On board were Russian soldiers and family members returning to their base in Batumi following a leave period. Due to poor weather conditions west of Batumi, the crew was cleared to initiate the approach to Batumi-Chorokh Airport from the northeast to runway 31 while the usual approach is from the sea to runway 13. While descending in poor visibility at an altitude of 940 metres and a speed of 340 km/h, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Mtirala (,1336 metres high) located about 17 km northeast of Batumi Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 84 occupants were killed.

The twin engine aircraft departed Donaueschingen-Villingen Airport in the afternoon on a local calibration mission. After several circuits over the area at an altitude of 7,000 feet, both NDB and DME systems have been calibrated and the crew was returning to the airport at the end of the afternoon. While approaching runway 36 in marginal weather conditions, the crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the aircraft struck trees and crashed in a wooded area located about 15 km from the airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all four occupants were killed. According to published procedures, the crew was supposed to continue the approach at a minimum altitude of 4,500 feet until 11 km from the runway threshold then descending to 2,650 feet. For unknown reasons, the crew started the descent prematurely, causing the aircraft to impact terrain.

The twin engine aircraft departed Regensburg-Oberhub Airport in the morning on a flight to Mannheim City. About 15 minutes prior to arrival, the pilot cancelled his IFR flight plan and started the descent under VFR mode. On approach, at an altitude of 1,700 feet and at a speed of 110 knots, the aircraft struck tree tops and crashed in a wooded and hilly terrain located east of Dossenheim, about 15 km southeast of Mannheim Airport, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and the pilot, sole on board, was seriously injured. He died from his injuries two weeks later.

While descending to Sam Neua Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with limited visibility. Approaching in clouds, the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located 12 km from the airport. Eight passengers were killed while nine other occupants were injured.

At 1108 mountain daylight time on 08 October 2000, the Summit Air Charter's Short Brothers SC-7 Skyvan, serial number SH1953, departed on a visual flight rules six-hour flight from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, to Kugluktuk, Nunavut, to Port Radium, Northwest Territories, and back to Yellowknife. The flight plan indicated a one-hour stop in Kugluktuk, with an estimated time of arrival at Yellowknife of 1710. The pilot-in-command was the chief pilot of Summit Air Charters Ltd. A cargo handler, who was also a pilot, was in the co-pilot's seat, and there was one passenger. When the aircraft failed to arrive at Yellowknife, Search and Rescue (SAR) were alerted and a search was begun. At 2202 SAR personnel confirmed that the SAR satellite was picking up an emergency locator transmitter signal in the vicinity of Port Radium. SAR aircraft were directed to the signal location and found the signal source but were not able to see the wreckage because of fog and freezing rain. The wreckage was found at 1309 the following day. The aircraft had struck the top of steeply rising hills along the east shore of Great Bear Lake, approximately 2.9 nautical miles northeast of the Port Radium airstrip. The crash site is approximately 440 feet above the lake surface and 250 feet above the airstrip elevation (see Appendix A). The aircraft was destroyed, and the three persons on board were fatally injured.