Takeoff (climb)

The Hawkeye was based on the USS Harry S. Truman cruising in the Atlantic Ocean. Shortly after take off, the aircraft crashed into the sea, some 240 km off the Virginia coast. All three crew members were killed. The accident occurred under unknown circumstances by night.

On Thursday 9 August 2007, the DHC-6 aeroplane registered F-OIQI was scheduled to fly a public transport flight (QE1121) between Moorea and Tahiti Faa’a with a pilot and 19 passengers on board. The flight, with an average duration of 7 minutes, is performed under VFR at a planned cruise altitude of 600 feet. The following information is derived from the on-board audio recording and witness statements. At 21 h 53 min 22, startup was authorised. The pilot made the safety announcement in English and in French: “Ladies and Gentlemen, hello and welcome on board. Please fasten your seatbelts”. At 21 h 57 min 19, the air traffic controller cleared the aeroplane to taxi towards holding point Bravo on runway 12. At 21 h 58 min 10, the aeroplane was cleared to line up. It taxied up the runway and lined up at the level of the second taxiway. At 22 h 00 min 06, the aeroplane was cleared for takeoff. Six seconds later the engines were powered up. At 22 h 00 min 58, the pilot retracted the flaps. At 22 h 01 min 07, propeller speed was reduced. At 22 h 01 min 09 the pilot uttered an expression of surprise. Two GPWS warnings sounded, propeller speed increased and four further GPWS warnings sounded. The aeroplane struck the surface of the sea at 22 h 01 min 20. One minute and eight seconds elapsed between engine power-up and the end of the audio recording. Fourteen bodies were recovered during the rescue operations. Some aeroplane debris, including parts of the right main gear and seat cushions were recovered by fishermen and the rescue team. Some days later, at a depth of seven hundred metres, a fifteenth body was recovered during operations to recover the flight recorder, both engines, the instrument panel, the front part of the cockpit including engine and flaps controls, the flaps jackscrews and the tail section. It was noted that the rudder and elevator control cables were broken off in their forward parts and that the elevator pitch-up control cable had, in its aft part, a second failure whose appearance was different from that observed on the other failures that were examined.

The emergency medical services (EMS) airplane took off toward the east in dark night visual conditions. The purpose of the Part 135 commercial air ambulance flight was to transport a 15-month-old patient from one hospital to another. Immediately following the takeoff from an airport elevation of 6,814 feet above mean sea level (msl), witnesses observed the airplane initiate a left turn to the north and disappear. Satellite tracking detected the airplane a shortly after departure, when the airplane was flying at an altitude of 6,811 feet msl, an airspeed of 115 knots, and a course of 072 degrees. The airplane impacted terrain at an elevation of 6,860 msl feet shortly thereafter, about 4 miles southeast of the departure airport. The pilot, flight nurse, paramedic, patient, and patient's mother were fatally injured. When the airplane failed to arrive at its destination, authorities initiated a search and the wreckage was located the next morning. Documentation and analysis of the accident site by the NTSB revealed that debris path indicated a heading away from the destination airport. Initial impact with trees occurred at an elevation of 6,860 feet. Fragmented wreckage was strewn for 1,100 feet down a 4.5-degree graded hill on a magnetic heading of 141 degrees. The aircraft's descent angle was computed to be 13 degrees, and the angle of impact was computed to be 8.5 degrees. There was evidence of a post-impact flash fire. Both engine and propeller assemblies were recovered and examined; the assemblies bore signatures consistent with engine power in a mid to high power range. The flaps and landing gear were retracted, indicating that the pilot did not attempt to land the airplane at the time of the accident. Flight control continuity was established, and control cable and push rods breaks exhibited signatures consistent with overload failures. There was no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical malfunction found during examination of the available evidence. The pilot had logged 2,775 total flight hours, of which 23 hours were in the accident airplane. Toxicology testing detected chlorpheniramine (an over-the-counter antihistamine that results in impairment at typical doses) and acetaminophen (an over-the-counter pain reliever and fever reducer often known by the trade name Tylenol and frequently combined with chlorpheniramine). No blood was available for tox testing, so it is not possible to accurately estimate the time of last use, nor determine if the level of impairment that these substances would have incurred during the flight. The airplane was not equipped with either a flight data recorder or a cockpit voice recorder, nor were they required by Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR). The impact damage to the aircraft, presence of dark night conditions, experience level of the pilot, and anomalous flight path are consistent with spatial disorientation.

The aircraft departed Moscow-Domodedovo Airport on a cargo flight to Komsomolsk-on-Amur with intermediate stops in Omsk and Bratsk, carrying seven crew members and a load of 9,043 kilos of various equipments for the Gagarin Aircraft Manufacturing Plant in Komsomolsk. The aircraft took off from Domodedovo Airport runway 32C at 0415LT. While climbing at a height of about 70-75 metres and a speed of 295 km/h, the aircraft collided with a flock of birds that struck both engines n°3 and 4. Almost simultaneously, both right engines stopped and their respective propeller autofeathered. The aircraft lost speed, rolled to the right to an angle of 45° then entered an uncontrolled descent before crashing a wooded area located 4 km from the airport, bursting into flames. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 7 occupants were killed.

Shortly after takeoff from Dire Dawa-Aba Tenna Dejazmach Yilma Airport, while climbing to an altitude of 3,500 feet, one of the engine failed. The captain decided to return for an emergency landing but the aircraft crashed in a desert area located near Shinile, about 5 km north of Dire Dawa Airport. Upon impact, the aircraft broke in three. A passenger was killed while 8 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was completing a cargo flight to Djibouti City on behalf of Djibouti Airlines, carrying a load of 6 tons of qat.

Shortly after takeoff from Arekuna Camp Airstrip, while climbing to a height of about 200 feet, the engine lost power. The crew attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft collided with trees and came to rest upside down. Both pilots were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Shortly after takeoff from Bandundu Airport, while in initial climb, the twin engine aircraft collided with a flock of birds, stalled and crashed. There were no casualties but the aircraft was destroyed.

At approximately 1235 Pacific daylight time, the Liard Air Limited de Havilland DHC-6-100 Twin Otter (registration C-FAWC, serial number 108) was taking off from a gravel airstrip near the Northern Rockies Lodge at Muncho Lake on a visual flight rules flight to Prince George, British Columbia. After becoming airborne, the aircraft entered a right turn and the right outboard flap hanger contacted the Alaska Highway. The aircraft subsequently struck a telephone pole and a telephone cable, impacted the edge of the highway a second time, and crashed onto a rocky embankment adjacent to a dry creek channel. The aircraft came to rest upright approximately 600 feet from the departure end of the airstrip. An intense post-impact fire ensued and the aircraft was destroyed. One passenger suffered fatal burn injuries, one pilot was seriously burned, the other pilot sustained serious impact injuries, and the other two passengers received minor injuries.

During the takeoff roll from runway 02, at a speed of about 100 km/h, the aircraft became unstable. The pilot-in-command elected to takeoff twice but the aircraft failed to respond. Twelve seconds later, the captain decided to abandon the takeoff procedure but this decision was taken too late as the remaining distance was 300 metres only. Unable to stop, the aircraft crossed the boundary fence then a motorway where it collided with several vehicles before coming to rest, bursting into flames. All three crew members were killed as well as seven people on the ground. Ten other people on the ground were seriously injured.

The airport is on a plateau, and the surrounding terrain is lower than the runway. After departing runway 24, the airplane collided with the top conductor of a telephone line an estimated 2,500 feet from the departure end of the runway. The airport elevation was 331 feet msl and the estimated elevation of the line was 245 feet. The debris path was along a magnetic bearing of 270 degrees. Both left and right engines displayed contact signatures to their internal components that were characteristic of the engines producing power at the time of impact. Fire consumed the cabin and cockpit precluding a meaningful examination of instruments and systems. An aviation routine weather report (METAR) issued about 13 minutes before the accident stated that the winds were calm, visibility was 1/4 mile in fog; and skies were 100 feet obscured. An examination of the pilot's logbook indicated that the pilot had a total instrument flight time of 268 hours as of June 21, 2007. In the 90 prior days he had flown 11 hours in actual instrument conditions and logged 20 instrument approaches.