Landing (descent or approach)

Few minutes after takeoff from Reykjavik Airport, while cruising over Eyjafjallajökull, the pilote declared an emergency following the failure of the left engine. He was cleared to return to Reykjavik and was vectored for an approach to runway 14. On final, he encountered strong winds when the aircraft banked left then stalled and crashed 200 metres short of runway. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and the pilot escaped uninjured. At the time of the accident, the wind was gusting from 100°-130° up to 35 knots.

The pilot stated that after parachutists egressed from the airplane, he returned to the airport and found that he did not have a green down-and-locked indication for the left main landing gear. He stated that he executed emergency procedures and did two fly-bys over the runway. Ground personnel stated that the landing gear appeared to be down-and-locked. During the landing roll, the airplane began to slide side-ways, and the right main landing gear began to collapse and eventually separated from the airplane. The left main gear also collapsed as the airplane slid to a stop. After the accident, the upper torque knee on the left main landing gear was found broken. The failure mode of the upper torque knee was not determined.

On final approach to Tanjung Pandan-Buluh Tumbang Airport runway 36, at an altitude of 2,000 feet, the aircraft rolled to the left to angle of 80°, lost height and crashed in a coconut grove located about 1,500 metres short of runway. Fifteen occupants were killed, among them four crew members, while all other occupants were rescued.

While approaching Niamey Airport, the aircraft went out of control and crashed near the village of Sorey, about 10 km southeast of the airport, bursting into flames. The aircraft was destroyed and all 14 occupants were killed.

On landing at Verkhnevilyuisk, the aircraft touched down late on an unpaved runway, bounced twice, landed firmly 777 metres past the runway threshold. Unable to stop within the remaining distance (runway is 1,800 metres long), it overran and collided with obstacles. All five crew escaped unhurt while one passenger was injured.

Following an uneventful flight from Accra-Kotoka Airport, the crew started the descent to Abidjan-Félix Houphouët-Boigny Airport in poor weather conditions. Due to heavy rain falls, the horizontal visibility did not exceed 2 km and on final, the captain decided to initiate a go-around procedure. Few minutes later, the crew started a second approach to runway 21, established on the ILS but continued the approach above the glide. This caused the aircraft to land 900 metres past the runway threshold. On a wet runway surface, the aircraft skidded and veered off runway to the left. While contacting soft ground, the aircraft lost its undercarriage and came to rest 1,800 metres past the runway threshold. All 104 occupants were evacuated, among them three passengers were slightly injured. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were poor with heavy rain falls and wind from 110 gusting at 25 knots.

The crew was completing a flight from Colmar to Zurich with an intermediate stop in Basel. While on a night approach to runway 28 at Zurich-Kloten Airport, both engines lost power simultaneously. The aircraft lost height, struck a three-floor building and crashed on a second one located few dozen metres further. The captain was seriously injured while the copilot was killed.

The pilot had contacted the FSS 11 times on the day of the accident to obtain weather briefings. The conditions were below VFR minimums, which were required to conduct the passenger carrying commercial flight in a single-engine airplane. The conditions later improved and the pilot departed under a special VFR clearance. The pilot performed two approaches at the destination airport in IMC that were consistent with the two GPS approaches that were available there. Weather data and witnesses indicate that daylight conditions, low clouds and poor visibility prevailed, with cloud tops at 1,000 feet. After the second approach, the pilot radioed that he was heading back to the departure airport because he could not see the airport. No distress calls or unusual engine noises were heard. The airplane subsequently flew north of the airport and away from the departure airport at an altitude beneath the minimum radar coverage of 2,200 feet. It impacted the frozen Arctic Ocean in a right bank and at a 60-degree nose-down attitude about three miles away from the location of the pilot's last radio transmission. An examination of the airplane (before it sank through cracking ice) revealed no pre-impact mechanical malfunctions. An examination of the propeller revealed that it was under a power setting consistent with a maneuvering airspeed at the time of impact. An examination of the autopilot annunciator filament revealed that the autopilot was not engaged at impact. The airplane was nearly full of fuel and over its published maximum gross weight at impact. Small pieces of clear ice, about 1/4-inch thick, were found on portions of the tail surfaces. Interviews with operator employees and the pilot's wife revealed that the pilot may have felt pressure from himself and passengers to complete the flight.

Witnesses observed the airplane overfly their homes at low altitude in a tight circular pattern. A witness about 1/2 mile from the airport '. . . watched the plane try to make a turn to the left trying to go back west to the Highland County Airport. The plane made a sharp turn, seemed to be having difficulty stabilizing the airplane . . . .' Also, a witness reported that she heard a loud noise, and then she observed an airplane just barely above the trees. The landing gear was down, and the airplane 'kept dipping up and down.' Another witness reported the airplane was 'wobbling left to right,' and then it descended into trees, struck vehicles, came to rest against a tree, and was destroyed by a post crash fire. A person, who flew with the pilot as a safety pilot on several occasions, reported that the pilot had a habit of making steep close-in turns, from downwind to base, to final; and he noticed 'lack in airspeed management during approach.' Examination of the wreckage did not disclose any preimpact failure of the airplane or engine.

The aircraft departed Milwaukee-General Billy Mitchell Airport on a flight to Howard AFB, Panama City, with an intermediate stop in Tegucigalpa, carrying 10 crew members and a load consisting of foods and electronics. At Tegucigalpa-Toncontin Airport, the aircraft landed 2,000 feet past the runway threshold in a 50° flaps down configuration. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, it overran and crashed on a road and a bridge, bursting into flames. Three crew members were killed and seven others were injured.