Takeoff (climb)

Witnesses reported hearing the engines start and shortly thereafter, the airplane taxied to the runway. The pilot then contacted ATC for an IFR clearance. The clearance was given with a short void time. The pilot acknowledged the clearance and began the takeoff ground roll. Witnesses reported that the night-time takeoff roll and engine sound appeared normal. Witnesses near the end of the runway reported that the airplane was observed at about 50 feet above the runway with about 1,000 feet of runway remaining when engine power was reduced on both engines. The airplane was heard to touch down, then engine power was reapplied. Shortly thereafter, the sound of the impact was heard. The airplane collided with the terrain about 600 feet from the end of the runway. During the post-accident inspection of the airplane and engines, no evidence was found to indicate a mechanical failure or malfunction. Documentation of the events indicated that from the time the aircraft began its taxi to the runway, to the time the takeoff roll began, was approximately six minutes in duration. Before the takeoff roll began, the pilot had accepted a clearance with a void time of four minutes. By the time the pilot correctly read back the clearance, less than two minutes remained before the void time. Post accident documentation of the accident site revealed that neither the pilot nor the passenger were wearing their lap belts or shoulder harnesses. It was also noted that the pilot had not yet selected the discrete transponder code as indicated by the clearance.

Witnesses saw the airplane depart the airport to the south, turn left at an altitude of about 200 feet above the ground (agl), fly downwind to the departure runway, climb to an altitude of about 800 to 1,000 feet, and then turn right. A witness, who was operating a crane near the crash site said, he saw the airplane approaching from the south heading towards the north, turn to the right (east), and flew directly over him. He told police officers that he could see both propellers 'spinning,' and could 'actually see the pilot flying the plane.' The witness said, '...[the] motor sounded fine...[and the airplane] took a sharp downward fall, hit the road and bounced in the air, then fire started....' Other witnesses said they saw the angle of bank increase, the airplane descend rapidly, impact on a four-lane hard surface road right wing first, strike a wooden power pole, burst into flames, and come to rest in marshy area on the eastside of the road. Examination of the airframe, engine and propeller revealed no discrepancies.

The four engine aircraft was completing a cargo flight from Kinshasa to Mbandaka on behalf of the Congolese Armed Forces, carrying seven crew members and a load of fuel drums, ammunitions and bombs. After takeoff from Kinshasa-N'Djili Airport, while climbing, the captain informed ATC about the failure of the engine n°3 and was cleared to return for an emergency landing. The aircraft went out of control and crashed three minutes after takeoff on a building owned by the Congolese Electricity Company and located near the airport. All seven occupants were killed.

The aircraft was leased to a Belgian charter broker around June 1998 to operate fish charter flights between Mwanza and Vienna. The aircraft was in fact seen on many other airports, Bratislava, Ostrava and Lubumbashi. At the time of the accident, the plane is understood to have had a long list of 32 faults that needed urgent repair. Problems included a limited EGT of n°1 & 4 engines; n°3 engine constant speed drive (CSD) gearbox was consuming a 'massive amount of oil'; n°1 engine CSD generator missing; n°2 engine required bleed on takeoff and above FL330; left wing leading edge cracked and leaking; n°4 fuel tank and reserve tank gauge not working. Decision to ferry the aircraft to N'Djamena was taken on February 7. During the takeoff roll the n°2 & 3 engines failed. The takeoff was aborted but the aircraft could not be stopped within the remaining distance. It overran, lost its nose gear and came to rest 200 metres past the runway end. All seven occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

After takeoff from Jumla Airport, en route to Nepalgunj, the single engine aircraft climbed to a height of 450 feet when it rolled to the left, entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a field near the airport. One pilot and four passengers were killed while seven other occupants were injured.

Shortly after takeoff from Valdepeñas Airport runway 08, while in initial climb, both engines lost power. The pilot elected to make an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed in an open field located 3 km from the airfield. Both occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Shortly after takeoff from Huambo-Albano Machado Airport, while climbing, the four engine aircraft was shot down by a surface-to-air missile and crashed about 20 km north of the airport near the village of Alto Chyumbu. All nine occupants were killed.

The aircraft departed Huambo-Albano Machado Airport on an humanitarian mission to Saurimo under call sign UNO806 on behalf of the United Nations Organization. Five minutes after takeoff, while climbing, the aircraft was shot down by a surface-to-air missile and crashed in a field located near the village of Vila Nova, about 40 km from Huambo. The aircraft was destroyed and all 14 occupants were killed.

Following a poor flight preparation, the crew chose the wrong runway according to the wind component and elected to takeoff with a tailwind, and moreover with the flaps retracted. The captain started the takeoff roll from an intersection instead using all the runway length, causing the takeoff distance to be 660 metres. After a course of about 190 metres, the aircraft deviated to the right, veered off runway and came into soft ground. The crew continued to roll on a distance of 95 metres when the tail gear (tail ski) was torn off while contacting a 40 cm high earth mound. The aircraft continued, overran and came to rest 30 metres past the runway end. All 11 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The certificated commercial pilot and the pilot-rated, nonrevenue passenger, departed at night from a remote village airport on the last leg of a VFR scheduled air taxi flight. The destination airport was 17 nautical miles northeast of the departure point. After departure, the pilot said he encountered severe turbulence and entered a snow squall where the visibility dropped below 1 mile. The pilot said he was in instrument meteorological conditions, and a strong surface wind was blowing the airplane toward the southwest. He began correcting his course toward the southeast, and then collided with a snow-covered hill. The passenger said that light snow showers were falling in the area, along with turbulence and strong winds from the northeast. After departing on the accident flight, snow showers intensified, and the pilot turned toward the south, away from the intended destination. About 10 minutes after takeoff, the passenger inquired about the direction of flight, and the pilot said he was going to head to the coast and follow it to the destination. The visibility was about 1 mile. No ground features were visible until the passenger saw snow-covered terrain about 3 feet below the airplane. The airplane then collided with terrain. The pilot indicated he obtained a weather briefing from an FAA Flight Service Station.