Takeoff (climb)

The single engine aircraft departed Wangerooge Island Airport on a private flight to Bremen, carrying four passengers and one pilot. Following a takeoff roll of about 300 metres from runway 28, the aircraft lifted off and entered a high angle of attack. It rolled to the left and crashed in a drainage ditch located about 340 metres from the departure point. All five occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed. Both people seating in the cockpit were seriously injured as the cockpit was destroyed by impact forces.

Shortly after takeoff from Kamina Airport, while in initial climb, the twin engine aircraft stalled and crashed in a swampy area. A parliamentary member of the DRC government was killed while all other occupants escaped with various injuries.

On June 4, 2007, about 1600 central daylight time, a Cessna Citation 550, N550BP, impacted Lake Michigan shortly after departure from General Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (MKE). The two pilots and four passengers were killed, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was being operated by Marlin Air under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 and departed MKE about 1557 with an intended destination of Willow Run Airport, near Ypsilanti, Michigan. At the time of the accident flight, marginal visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the surface, and instrument meteorological conditions prevailed aloft; the flight operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan.

The Black Sheep Aviation and Cattle Company de Havilland DHC-3T Turbo Otter (registration C-GZCW, serial number 447) had been loaded with a cargo of lumber at Mayo, Yukon. The aircraft was taxied to the threshold of Runway 06 and the pilot began the take-off roll at 1755 Pacific daylight time. At lift-off, the aircraft entered an extreme nose-up attitude and began to rotate to the right. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft struck the airport ramp. The pilot, who was the sole occupant of the aircraft, was fatally injured. A small post-impact fire was extinguished by first responders.

Shortly after takeoff the pilot experienced a loss of power on the right engine. He attempted to return to the airport to land, but determined that he was not going to reach the runway so he elected to land on a dirt field. He flew under power lines that were in his flight path and attempted to flare the airplane prior to it impacting the terrain. The airplane was equipped with Teledyne Continental GTSIO-520 engines. Post accident examination of the right engine revealed that all of the teeth on the starter adapter gear and several of the teeth on the crankshaft gear were missing. Several gear teeth and metal filings were located in the oil sump. The torsional damper to shaft gear woodruff key was sheared. The torsional damper was placed on a test bench to determine the damping time. The consecutive tests averaged a damping time of 6.9 seconds. The damping time of a new damper is min/max 1.5 to 3.125 seconds. Metallurgical examination revealed 15 starter gear teeth and 11 crankshaft gear teeth were fractured near their root. No indications of preexisting cracking were noted. At least two of the starter gear teeth and several of the crankshaft gear teeth displayed spalling and wear at the pitch line of the teeth. On June 13, 1994, Teledyne Continental issued a Mandatory Service Bulletin, MSB94-4, addressing the possible failure of the starter adapter gear and/or crankshaft gear on GTSIO-520 and GIO-550 engines. On October 31, 2005, Teledyne Continental issued revision, MSB94-4G. The service bulletin called for an inspection of the starter adapter viscous damper and shaft gear backlash every 100 hours of engine operation, and a visual inspection of the starter adapter shaft and crankshaft gear teeth for spalling, pitting, and wear, every 400 hours of engine operation. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued Airworthiness Directive (AD) 2005-20-04, effective November 1, 2005, requiring compliance with the Teledyne Continental Mandatory Service Bulletin. Maintenance records showed the mandatory service bulletin had been complied with when the right engine was overhauled and installed in March 2001. There was no indication in the maintenance records that either the mandatory service bulletin or the AD had been complied with since the engine was installed. The engine had a total time of 541.9 hours at the time of the accident. The pilot did not follow the published emergency procedures.

The twin engine aircraft was performing a cargo flight from Walikale to Goma, carrying one passenger, two pilots and a load consisting of two tons of minerals (cassiterite). Three minutes after it departed a 700 metres long dirt road, one of the engine caught fire. The crew elected to return for an emergency landing when the aircraft went out of control and crashed in a wooded area. All 3 occupants were killed.

During the night of 4th May 2007, the B737-800, registration 5Y-KYA, operating as flight KQ507 from Abidjan international Airport, Ivory Coast, to the Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi (Kenya), made a scheduled stop-over at the Douala international Airport. The weather was stormy. The aircraft took off and climbed into the dark night. There were no external visual references, yet no instrument scanning was done by the crew. At 1000 feet climbing, the pilot flying released the flight controls for 55 seconds without having engaged the autopilot. The bank angle of the airplane increased continuously by itself very slowly up to 34° right and the captain appeared unaware of the airplane’s changing attitude. Just before the "Bank Angle" warning sounds, the captain grabbed the controls, appeared confused about the attitude of the airplane, and made corrections in an erratic manner increasing the bank angle to 50° right. At about 50° bank angle, the autopilot was engaged and the inclination tended to stabilize; then movements of the flight controls by the pilot resumed and the bank angle increased towards 70° right. A prolonged right rudder input brought the bank angle to beyond 90°. The aircraft descended in a spiral dive until it crashed at approximately 0008LT (May 5) in a mangrove swamp located 5,5 km southeast of Douala Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 114 occupants were killed.

During the initial climb after takeoff, just after the aircraft passed 400 feet above ground level (agl), the pilot shut off the fuel boost pumps in preparation for the en route climb. Soon thereafter, one of the engines lost power without warning, and because he was carrying a heavy load, he immediately feathered the propeller and started looking for a place to put the aircraft down. Because there was rising terrain and scattered houses south of the airport, he had to maneuver to get to an open area. During the forced landing on the uneven terrain, one of the landing gear legs collapsed, and the aircraft impacted the terrain and slid into a power pole. A post-accident teardown inspection of the engine and the aircraft systems did not reveal any anomalies that would have resulted in the failure of the engine that lost power.

The left engine of the float equipped Beechcraft D18S suffered a loss of oil pressure shortly after takeoff from Jackson Bay, BC. The engine lost power, the aircraft yawed to the left and while contacting the water, the left float was torn off. The pilot and all six passengers escaped with six life jackets and held on to one float which remained afloat. The aircraft sank within a minute. All seven occupants were rescued in about half an hour. One passenger got a minor injury and all suffered some levels of hypothermia.

During the takeoff roll on runway 28, the pilot-in-command decided to reject takeoff and initiated an emergency braking procedure. The aircraft overran, turned to the left, lost its undercarriage and came to rest on a river bank. All 15 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.