Landing (descent or approach)

On 9th January, 1993 TU-154 aircraft No. 85533 wet leased by Indian Airlines from Uzbekistan Airways was operating flight IC-840 from Hyderabad to Delhi. The aircraft was being flown by Uzbeki operating crew and there were 165 persons on board including the crew. The aircraft touched down slightly outside the right edge of the runway, collided with some fixed installations on the ground, got airborne once again and finally touched down on kutcha ground on the right side of the runway. At this stage the right wing and the tail of the aircraft broke away and it came to rest in an inverted position. During the process, the aircraft caught fire and was destroyed. Most occupants of the aircraft escaped unhurt. Six persons suffered either limb fracture or other serious injuries while 45 persons suffered injuries of a minor nature.

On short final to Surabaya-Juanda Airport, the right engine failed. The aircraft banked to the right and crashed in a swampy area located 800 metres short of runway. 16 occupants were killed while 28 others were injured.

Following an uneventful flight from Mexico City, the crew was cleared for an approach to Hermosillo-General Ignacio Pesqueira Garcia Airport runway 23. During the descent, the crew was alerted by ATC about poor weather conditions and limited visibility. On final, at an altitude of 1,800 feet, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt El Bachoco located 10,4 km short of runway 23. The aircraft was destroyed and all nine occupants were killed.

While approaching Paris-Roissy-CDG Airport by night, at a distance of 13 km from runway 27 threshold, the crew was instructed by ATC to modify the approach trajectory and to descent to runway 28. This late request was necessary because runway 27 was just closed to traffic after a Korean Air B747 contacted the runway surface with its engine n°1. While completing a left turn, the airplane lost height and crashed in a field located 1,800 metres short of runway. Four passengers were killed while 19 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed. At the time of the accident, the visibility was reduced between 700 and 1,400 metres due to light fog and rain. The copilot was in command and it is believed the crew was disturbed by the late runway change. While on descent heading 265°, 100 seconds before FDR stopped recording, at an altitude of 1,600 feet and a speed of 170 knots, both engine torques were at 20%. Twenty seconds later, both engines torque dropped to zero and the automatic pilot system was deactivated. At this time, the flaps were retracted. The sink rate increased then the aircraft entered a nose-up attitude with its speed decreasing. The aircraft struck the ground at a speed of 110 knots and crashed.

After making a refueling stop, the pilot took off at night and was cruising at FL200. After about 30 minutes of flight, the right engine fuel filter bypass warning light illuminated. About 2 minutes later, the same warning light for the left engine illuminated. Soon thereafter the right engine, then the left engine, lost power. The pilot made a forced landing on a moving ice pack in the Bering sea, which resulted in substantial damage. Ice was found in the engine and main fuel screens. Significant amounts of water and/or ice were found in 3 tanks, which had been refueled before takeoff. A higher than normal amount of water was also found in the fuel sample taken from the nozzle of the refueling tanker. The flight manual required that an approved ice inhibitor be added to the fuel, if not premixed. Fuel at the refueling stop was not premixed and the pilot had no icing inhibitor (prist) with him on this flight. He did not drain fuel from the tanks during preflight, since the temperature was so cold he feared the drain might freeze open.

During the approach, the 1st officer (FO) asked the captain if he wanted to '...pop the boots?' to remove ice off the wings. The capt responded '...it's going to the hangar. I'll run'em on the ground...' The FO retarded power over the threshold and the sink rate increased; the capt observed 900 fpm. The FO applied additional back pressure on the yoke, but it was inadequate to arrest the high sink rate. Additional back pressure was applied, and the stall horn sounded followed shortly thereafter by the captain stating 'I got it.' During the hard landing the right main landing gear broke, the fuel tank ruptured, and the right wing rear spar bent upward. Aprx 18 hrs after the accident, 3/16 inch of rime mixed with clear ice was observed on the leading edges of the wing, horizontal stab, and vertical stab. The ice had finger-like protrusions positioned vertically to the wing surfaces. The company's line ops manual does not discuss flight characteristics or landing techniques specific to wing ice. Neither pilot had received company's current crm training.

Crashed in unknown circumstances upon landing at South Bimini Airport. The pilot, sole on board, was uninjured.

While in a descent for arrival at the destination airport, the aircraft sustained structural failure with the right outer wing, horizontal stabilizer, and vertical stabilizer separating from the aircraft. The aircraft impacted approximately 10 miles from the planned destination. According to radar data and other research, the descent was conducted at vne and known severe turbulence was present in the area at the time of the accident.

Following an uneventful flight from Benghazi, the crew was cleared to start the descent to Tripoli Airport. Due to military traffic, the crew was instructed to hold over the Papa Echo beacon located 4,1 DME from runway 27 threshold. At an altitude of 3,000 feet, the Boeing 727 collided with a Libyan Air Force MiG-23 that just took off from Tripoli Airport. The fighter struck the tail of the Boeing that entered a dive and crashed 9 km from the airport after the tail separated. All 157 occupants were killed while both pilots on board the fighter ejected safely.

At 0552LT, the aircraft departed Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport on a charter flight to Faro. The flight had been delayed for 40 minutes due to n°2 engine reverser problems. After a flight of 2 hours and 17 minutes, the crew was cleared to descend to FL070. Shortly afterwards Faro Approach Control provided the crew with the following weather: wind 15°/18 knots; 2,500 metres visibility, thunderstorms with 3/8 clouds at 500 feet, 7/8 clouds at 2,300 feet and 1/8 cumulonimbus at 2,500 feet, OAT 16° C. Clearance to descend to 1,220 metres was given at 0820LT, followed by a clearance to 915 metres and 650 metres 4, respectively 6 minutes later. At 0829LT the crew were informed that the runway was flooded. At an altitude of 303 metres and at a speed of 140 knots, the aircraft became unstable and at 177 metres the first officer switched the autopilot from CMD (command mode) to CWS (control-wheel steering). One minute later it was switched from CWS to manual and the airspeed began falling below approach reference speed. About 3-4 seconds short of touchdown, elevator was pulled to pitch up and engine power was increased. When the n°3 and 5 spoilers extended, the aircraft banked to the right to an angle of 25°. The right main gear struck the the runway surface with a rate of descent of 900 feet per minute and at a speed of 126 knots. With a nose up attitude of 8,79° and a roll angle of 5,62°, the aircraft touched down with a positive acceleration of 1,95 g. Upon impact, the right wing separated while the aircraft slid down the runway and came to rest 1,100 metres from the runway 11 threshold and 100 metres to the right of the centreline, bursting into flames. Two crew members and 54 passengers were killed while 284 other occupants were evacuated, among them 106 were seriously injured.