Takeoff (climb)

On September 15, 2015, about 0606 Alaska daylight time, a single-engine, turbine-powered, float-equipped de Havilland DHC-3T (Otter) airplane, N928RK, impacted tundra-covered terrain just after takeoff from East Wind Lake, about 1 mile east of the Iliamna Airport, Iliamna, Alaska. Of the 10 people on board, three passengers died at the scene, the airline transport pilot and four passengers sustained serious injuries, and two passengers sustained minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was registered to and operated by Rainbow King Lodge, Inc., Lemoore, California, as a visual flight rules other work use flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Dark night, visual meteorological conditions existed at the departure point at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed for the flight. At the time of the accident, the airplane was en route to a remote fishing site on the Swishak River, about 75 miles northwest of Kodiak, Alaska.

The single engine aircraft departed Cannes-Mandelieu Airport on a private flight to Triengen, Switzerland, with one passenger and one pilot on board. Shortly after takeoff from runway 17, while in initial climb, the pilot noticed engine troubles and the speed dropped. He was able to maintain a straight-in path and eventually ditched the airplane few hundred metres offshore. Both occupants were slightly injured and the aircraft sank and was lost.

The single engine aircraft departed Casale Monferrato-Francesco Cappa Airfield on a local skydiving mission, the 13th sortie of the day, carrying seven skydivers, three tourists and one pilot). Shortly after rotation from a grassy runway, the pilot encountered engine problems. The aircraft continued in a flat attitude, collided with a hedge and few trees before coming to rest in a wooded area located 300 metres past the runway end. All 11 occupants were injured, some of them seriously. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Shortly after takeoff from the Kaduna Military Airfield, while climbing, the aircraft went out of control and crashed into a house located in the Ribadu Cantonment, bursting into flames. All seven occupants (two pilots, two engineers and three passengers) were killed.

The private pilot, who was experienced flying the accident airplane, was conducting a personal flight with three passengers on board the single-engine turboprop airplane. Earlier that day, the pilot flew uneventfully from his home airport to an airport about 1 hour away. During takeoff for the return flight, the airplane impacted wooded terrain about 0.5 mile northwest of the departure end of the runway. There were no witnesses to the accident, but the pilot's radio communications with flight service and on the common traffic advisory frequency were routine, and no distress calls were received. A postcrash fire consumed a majority of the wreckage, but no preimpact mechanical malfunctions were observed in the remaining wreckage. Examination of the propeller revealed that the propeller reversing lever guide pin had been installed backward. Without the guide pin installed correctly, the reversing lever and carbon block could dislodge from the beta ring and result in the propeller blades traveling to an uncommanded feathered position. However, examination of the propeller components indicated that the carbon block was in place and that the propeller was in the normal operating range at the time of impact. Additionally, the airplane had been operated for about 9 months and 100 flight hours since the most recent annual inspection had been completed, which was the last time the propeller was removed from and reinstalled on the engine. Therefore, the improper installation of the propeller reversing lever guide pin likely did not cause the accident. Review of the pilot's autopsy report revealed that he had severe coronary artery disease with 70 to 80 percent stenosis of the right coronary artery, 80 percent stenosis of the left anterior descending artery, and mitral annular calcification. The severe coronary artery disease combined with the mitral annular calcification placed the pilot at high risk for an acute cardiac event such as angina, a heart attack, or an arrhythmia. Such an event would have caused sudden symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, or fainting/loss of consciousness and would not have left any specific evidence to be found during the autopsy. It is likely that the pilot was acutely impaired or incapacitated at the time of the accident due to an acute cardiac event, which resulted in his loss of airplane control.

The history of occurrence was established based on the witnesses’ statements. On 31.07.2015, the aircraft AN-2 registered YR-PEG was positioned on a flight field in the vicinity of the farm in Stӑncuţa commune, Brăila County, being prepared in order to perform several aviochemical flights in Giurgeni area on the following day. In the morning of 01.08.2015, the pilot and the aeronautical technical staff from his team were informed by the beneficiary of aviochemical works that, because it was raining in Giurgeni area, they will perform some aviochemical flights in Stӑncuţa area, in the vicinity of the flight field. Consequently, the aircraft was prepared for the flight in the area as follows: 200 l of gasoline were defueled from the aircraft tanks, the engine was started and the operating parameters were checked according to the specific diagram. The aircraft was supplied with chemical substances for the aerial work and after only a few minutes, the engine was started again, in order to take-off. Onboard there were the pilot and an aeronautical technician (hereinafter referred to as passenger) who occupied the pilot's seat on the right. The take-off on the S-N direction was normal in the first part. The take-off run was short – approximately 100 m, in the witnesses’ opinion – under the conditions of a gusty wind from the E direction, whose speed was gradually increasing. During the initial climb, at a height of about 15-20 m, the aircraft began to lean to the left and descend slightly. During this turn in descent, bank angle continued to increase, the aircraft flying with the left wing at very low height above the aircrafts parked towards the northern end of the flight field. Considering the aircraft evolution and observing that the pilot was not acting for correction, the passenger onboard on the right-hand pilot seat, tried instinctively to turn the aircraft control yoke to the right. According to his statement, he failed to operate the control yoke, considering that this was in a blocking state of which nature he could not specify. With the engine still running in take-off mode, the aircraft continued to descend, and after passing the parked aircrafts, it hit the ground with the propeller and the left wing tip. The impact of the wing tip determined the aircraft to pivot to the left and make a hard contact with the ground. The engine stopped because of the shock. An early fire was extinguished by witnesses arrived at the accident site. Amid the destruction of the cockpit and fuselage, the pilot was thrown out of the aircraft suffering serious injuries. The passenger, who occupied the right-hand seat, managed (after recovering from the shock) to exit the aircraft wreckage. The pilot and passenger were transported to the hospital. Later on, the pilot died due to multiple traumatic injuries, and the passenger required a long hospitalization period due to the injuries suffered. The aircraft was totally destroyed. There was no other damage in the area.

The crew was conducting a training mission at Lagoa Santa AFB, consisting of touch-and-go maneuvers. During the takeoff roll, the pilot-in-command pulled on the control column to initiate the rotation but the aircraft did not respond. It went out of control, veered off runway to the right, struck an embankment, lost its undercarriage and slid for few dozen metres before coming to rest in a grassy area. All three occupants escaped uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

On Sunday, July 26, 2015 at around 10:58 Japan Standard Time (JST: UTC + 9 hrs: unless otherwise stated, all times are indicated in JST using the 24-hour clock), a privately owned Piper PA-64-350P, registered JA4060, crashed into a private house at Fujimi Town in Chōfu City, right after its takeoff from Runway 17 of Chōfu Airport There were five people on board, consisting of the captain and four passengers. The captain and one passenger died and three passengers were seriously injured. In addition, one resident died and two residents had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed and a fire broke out. Furthermore, the house where the Aircraft crashed into were consumed in a fire, and neighboring houses sustained damage due to the fire and other factors.

After takeoff from Dubai-Skydive Campus Airfield, while climbing to a height of 2,500 feet, the pilot encountered engine problems. He elected to return to the airport but eventually attempted an emergency landing in a desert area close to the airport. The aircraft crash landed and came to rest, bursting into flames. All 15 occupants escaped uninjured and the aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire.

On 03.07.2015 at 15:05, Kodiak-100 N642RM airplane, which had left Riga AP (Latvia), performed a landing at Pskov AD (RF). The airplane was performing a ferry flight from USA (where it was bought) to Krutitsy landing site, which is 80 km to the Southeast from Ryazan (RF). After the landing, flight crewmembers and passengers passed a border and customs control successfully. The aircraft was kept at Pskov AD from July 3 till July 6 under custody of AASS of Pskovavia (JSC). On 06.07.2015 at 08:00, the flight crew – PIC and FO – arrived to Pskov AD with a view to the ferry flight resumption. PIC was planning to fly the aircraft from Pskov AD to Krutitsy landing site on 06.07.2015. In violation of FAP MA CA and FAP-128 requirements, PIC and FO didn't pass a preflight medical check in spite of the fact that Pskovavia medical service was available at the aerodrome. Before the takeoff, two flight crewmembers were in the cockpit: PIC occupying a left seat, and FO occupying a right seat. Both were secured with safety belts. At 13:15:30, PIC performed a takeoff from Pskov AD with MH=190°. According to the flight crew explanatory reports, during the climbing with left turn, they had the engine troubles. Therefore, the flight crew put the airplane into gliding. They failed to re-start the engine in flight. Before the emergency landing, they cut the fuel off and de-energized the aircraft. The landing was performed at 13:18 to a marshy area with some bushes and individual trees around. The aircraft received significant damage during the landing. There was no fire: neither in flight nor on the ground. At 13:21:21, FO reported the forced landing to ATC controller, using the aircraft radio station. Pskov First-Aid Station suggested the help, but the flight crewmembers refused because they did not have any injuries.