Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Johannesburg-Oliver Reginald Tambo (Jan Smuts)

Schedule:

Johannesburg - Port Elizabeth

MSN:

455

YOM:

1973

Location:

Gauteng

Country:

South Africa

Region:

Africa

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Shortly after liftoff, while in initial climb, the twin engine aircraft stalled and crashed near the runway end. The pilot was injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Probable cause:

Loss of control during initial following an engine failure for unknown reasons.

Crash of a Beechcraft H18 in Honolulu

Date & Time: Feb 22, 1997 at 0623 LT

Type of aircraft:

Beechcraft H18

Operator:

Polynesian Airways

Registration:

N7969K

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Honolulu - Lanai

MSN:

BA-702

YOM:

1964

Flight number:

PLA222

Location:

Honolulu

Hawaii

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

1867

Captain / Total hours on type:

142.00

Aircraft flight hours:

16600

Circumstances:

The airplane was loaded with mail & freight within 57 lbs of its max takeoff weight limit. No malfunction was noted during start or taxi. The pilot made a near-midfield intersection departure from runway 08L at 0622:35 local time. Seconds earlier, a Boeing 747 had completed its landing roll-out on runway 4R, which crossed runway 8L near its departure end. Winds were from 285° at 2 kts. The pilot and loader (a private pilot) said nothing unusual occurred during takeoff until the aircraft climbed to 100 feet agl, then 'suddenly the airplane yawed to the left as though the left engine had lost power.' Despite use of full right rudder, directional control was lost, and the pilot decreased the pitch attitude because of 'severe yawing and rolling tendencies.' The airplane's left wing tip impacted the right side of the runway, the tricycle gear collapsed, and the airplane slid to a stop and was consumed by fire. Due to fire damage and lack of accurate records, neither the total fuel load, the freight's actual weight, the cargo's preimpact location within the aircraft, nor the adequacy of the cargo tie down system could be validated. Weight and balance documents filed with the FAA were at variance with 'duplicate' documents held by the operator. Exam of the engines did not reveal evidence of a preimpact failure. Propeller ground scars on the runway indicated both engines were operating during impact. The accident occurred during the pilot's last flight as an employee with the company.

Probable cause:

Loss of aircraft control for undetermined reason(s).

Final Report:

Crash of an Antonov AN-32B in Colombo: 4 killed

Date & Time: Feb 21, 1997 at 1045 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-32

Operator:

Registration:

CR-865

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Western Province (மேல் மாகாணம்)

Schedule:

Colombo - Palaly

MSN:

35 10

YOM:

1996

Location:

Colombo-Ratmalana

Country:

Sri Lanka

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

During the takeoff roll at Colombo-Ratmalana Airport, the captain was ready to start the rotation when he suspected a technical problem and decided to abort the takeoff. At the same time, confusion sets in the cockpit and the copilot inadvertently retracts the landing gear, causing the aircraft to sink on the runway. It slid for few dozen metres and came to rest, bursting into flames. Four passengers were killed.

Crash of an Avro 748-353-2A in Tambacounda: 23 killed

Date & Time: Feb 1, 1997 at 1438 LT

Type of aircraft:

Avro 748

Operator:

Registration:

6V-AEO

Flight Phase:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Beechcraft 200 Super King Air

Schedule:

Tambacounda - Dakar

MSN:

1769

YOM:

1979

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The departure was delayed due to overbooking. Passengers and crew were nervous and few passengers should disembark. Following a normal takeoff roll, the pilot-in-command started the rotation. About 30 seconds later, while climbing to a height of about 100 feet, the left engine failed. The aircraft stalled and crashed less than 100 metres past the runway end, bursting into flames. The aircraft broke in two and most of the survivors were found in the rear part of the cabin while the front one disintegrated on impact. Twenty-nine people survived while 23 others, including all three crew members, were killed.

Probable cause:

The exact cause of the accident could not be determined and the official accident report was not published by the Senegal Government. Nevertheless, The determination of the causes of the accident is therefore based on the expert reports ordered by the French investigating magistrate and the position of the locking pin of the left supply valve observed after the accident. Experts conclude that the left engine has stopped due to the closing of the fuel supply valve. The poor quality of the fuel was also blamed, which, before the accident, led Air Senegal to ask a chemical engineer from Shell-Senegal to test the fuel and the refueling operations. The engineer, while noting the poor quality of the fuel, came to the same conclusions as the experts. In France, operational tests were carried out on a similar aircraft and, moreover, fuel analyzes were carried out by the Accident Investigation Bureau. To these different expertises were added those of the government of the United Kingdom, the country of the manufacturer of the aircraft, and the results of a test carried out by British Aerospace with the same aircraft. The various analyzes carried out on the drums used for refueling showed that water was not present in the drums but in the pump used for refueling. It appears that the pump had been disassembled and the filters removed before filling the aircraft's tanks. As a result, the tiny amount of water that could have been found in the tanks would not have allowed the fuel to be considered contaminated and therefore unfit for consumption. The court, considering itself sufficiently informed by all these expertises, refused to grant the civil parties a further investigation 12 years after the facts. For the magistrates, there is no doubt that the determining cause of the accident was the closure of the left fuel isolation valve. The various investigations finally made it possible to determine that a ground mechanic had carried out a technical intervention under the left wing before the departure, at the level of the engine, but the exact nature of this intervention could not be established with precision. In its judgment, the court recognized that various indirect causes may have played a role in the occurrence of this air disaster: anomalies in the storage and distribution of fuel, nervousness and intense stress generated around the aircraft due to overbooking, irritability of the captain who, impatient to take off, did not consider certain checks useful. However, the magistrates have ruled, the determining cause perfectly defined by the various experts is the closing of the isolation valve of the left engine of the aircraft. On May 14, 2009, more than 12 years after the incident, Senegalese mechanic Moustapha Diagne was sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment with a 15-month suspended sentence. The length of the firm prison sentence is the length of the pre-trial detention that the defendant, after being extradited, had already served.

Crash of a Beechcraft 200 Super King Air in Seven Islands

Date & Time: Jan 28, 1997 at 1700 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

C-GCEV

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Seven Islands - Montreal

MSN:

BB-153

YOM:

1976

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total hours on type:

1300.00

Circumstances:

The Propair Inc. Super King Air 200 (serial number BB-153), with two pilots and ten passengers on board, was preparing to make a charter flight under instrument flight rules from Sept-Îles to Dorval, Quebec. At 1700 eastern standard time (EST), the co-pilot, in the left seat, began the take-off roll on runway 09. At an indicated airspeed of about 90 knots, 5 knots below rotation speed (VR), the aircraft began to drift to the left, toward the runway edge. The copilot attempted unsuccessfully to correct the take-off track using the rudder. At around 100 knots, just before the aircraft exited the runway, the co-pilot pulled the elevator control all the way back and initiated a climb. At about the same moment, the pilot-in-command throttled back, believing that a collision with the snowbank at the runway edge was inevitable. The aircraft descended until it struck the snow-covered surface to the north of the runway and slid on its belly before coming to rest on a heading opposite to the take-off heading. The pilot-in-command was slightly injured. The aircraft sustained considerable damage. The occupants used the main door to evacuate the aircraft.

Probable cause:

The aircraft crashed as a result of the lack of cockpit co-ordination when the pilot-in-command took control of the aircraft as the aircraft was airborne. The following factors contributed to the occurrence: marginal environmental conditions; contaminated runway surface; poor cockpit management; ineffective briefing; and, inadequate training for rejected take-offs.

Final Report:

Crash of an Ilyushin II-76TD in Anadyr

Date & Time: Jan 25, 1997 at 1454 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-76

Operator:

Registration:

RA-76834

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Positioning

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Anadyr – Magadan – Moscow

MSN:

10234 09319

YOM:

1992

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

3309

Aircraft flight cycles:

1083

Circumstances:

During the takeoff roll, at a speed of 290 km/h, the copilot started the rotation. The aircraft lifted off, reached a height of 7 metres then entered a left bank of 3,5°. Following a course of 665 metres, the aircraft entered a critical angle of attack, nosed up to 35° then landed back on the runway while the undercarriage have just been retracted. The aircraft slid on its belly and came to rest 270 metres further, about 120 metres to the left of the runway centerline. All 25 occupants were rescued, among them two were seriously injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the captain decided to seat on the right front seat, letting the command to the copilot seating in the left front seat, which was against the published procedures because the copilot was not authorized and did not have sufficient experience. The copilot forgot to extend the flaps in an appropriate angle for the takeoff procedure, which caused the aircraft to adopt a critical angle of attack after liftoff and to stall. Successives errors and poor crew coordination were considered as contributing factors as well as the fact that the crew failed to follow the pre-takeoff checklist and failed to identify that the aircraft was not properly configured for the takeoff procedure.

Crash of a Cessna 401 in Crystal

Date & Time: Jan 22, 1997 at 1326 LT

Type of aircraft:

Cessna 401

Operator:

Air One - USA

Registration:

N5AS

Flight Phase:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan

Schedule:

Crystal – Lansing

MSN:

401-0208

YOM:

1969

Location:

Crystal

Minnesota

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

3745

Captain / Total hours on type:

409.00

Circumstances:

After landing at the airport, the airplane was taxied to a fixed base operator to pick up a passenger. Rime ice, as thick as two inches was seen on the airplane, and the pilots of the airplane attempted to manually remove the ice. The airplane was topped off with fuel before departure. During departure from runway 31R, the airplane collided with a fence. Numerous areas of ice were found on the airplane following the accident. Both propellers had similar damage. The pilots had reported to the FAA that the left engine had sustained a loss of power. The passenger reported that he did not notice any loss of power from either engine. No preimpact part failure or malfunction of the left engine was found.

Probable cause:

Failure of the pilot-in-command to ensure adequate removal of airframe ice from the aircraft during preflight.

Final Report:

Crash of a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan in Nakina

Date & Time: Jan 3, 1997 at 1110 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

C-FTZF

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Piper PA-61 Aerostar (Ted Smith 601)

Schedule:

Nakina - Fort Hope

MSN:

208B-0389

YOM:

1994

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

3200

Captain / Total hours on type:

1300.00

Circumstances:

At approximately 1110 eastern standard time (EST , the pilot commenced a scheduled cargo flight from Nakina, Ontario, to Fort Hope in a Cessna 208B Caravan, serial number 208B0389. The pilot reported that he selected the flaps to 20°, lined up on runway 09, and set the power at around 1,600 to 1,700 foot-pounds of torque. The torque redline is 1,865 foot-pounds. About 3/4 of the way through the take-off run, the aircraft began to yaw to the right, which the pilot initially compensated for by applying left rudder. As the airspeed increased and the nosewheel lifted off the runway, the right yaw became more pronounced, and the aircraft became more difficult to control. The aircraft became airborne at about 85 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS), with the pilot using left rudder and left aileron in his attempt to compensate for the yaw; however, he was not able to gain control of the aircraft. The aircraft touched down briefly on the runway, then became airborne again as the take-off continued. While flying at less than 20 feet above ground level over a small, frozen lake immediately off the end of the runway, the aircraft descended and struck the snow-covered surface of the lake. The aircraft was in a nose-high, right-wing-low attitude when it struck the ice. The aircraft flipped over and came to rest in an inverted position, approximately 1,000 feet past the end of the runway and 200 feet to the right of the extended right edge of the runway. The pilot received only minor injuries. He exited the aircraft and walked back to the flight office.

Probable cause:

The pilot experienced directional control difficulties during the take-off run, probably because the rudder trim was set at the near full left position. Because the rudder trim indicator could be moved without affecting the actual rudder trim, it is probable that it did not reflect the actual position of the rudder trim.

Final Report:

Crash of a Piper PA-61P Aerostar (Ted Smith 601P) in Chesapeake: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jan 2, 1997 at 1937 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

CG Aviation

Registration:

N3CD

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Private

Survivors:

Site: