Takeoff (climb)

The single engine aircraft was completing a cargo flight from La Paragua to a mining area, carrying a load of food. Shortly after liftoff, the aircraft encountered difficulties to gain height, rolled to the left and crashed upside down. The pilot, sole on board, was slightly injured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The aircraft was departing Mogadishu on a ferry flight to Minsk with an intermediate stop in Djibouti City, carrying 4 technicians of the operator and 7 crew members who were returning to Belarus after they recovered materials and instruments from another II-76 (EW-78826) that was damaged beyond repair at Mogadishu Airport last March 9. Shortly after takeoff, while in initial climb, the aircraft was hit by a missile that struck the left wing between both engines n°1 and 2. An explosion occurred and the aircraft caught fire. The crew initiated a turn when the left wing detached and crashed in the sea. Out of control, the aircraft crashed on a beach near the airport, killing all 11 occupants.

During the takeoff roll from Dubai Intl Airport runway 12L, after V1 speed, the crew heard a loud bang then noticed severe vibrations when the nose gear collapsed. The captain abandoned the takeoff procedure and initiated an emergency braking manoeuvre. The aircraft slid on its nose for few hundred metres and came to rest just before the end of the runway, slightly to the left of the centerline. All 250 occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The pilot was conducting flights for the purpose of parachute operations; these flights are known colloquially as ‘lifts’. On the previous day, he had conducted 13 lifts, of which eleven were to an altitude of 12,000 ft and two to an altitude of 5,500 ft or less. On the day of the accident the pilot recorded that he took off for the first lift at 0927 hrs. The aircraft, with nine parachutists aboard, climbed to 12,000 ft and landed at 0946 hrs. There followed three flights of an average 18 minute duration, between each of which the aircraft was on the ground for no more than 7 minutes. The last of these flights landed at 1100 hrs, after which the aircraft uplifted 230 ltr of Jet A1 fuel. The aircraft utilised the main runway, Runway 29, for each of these flights. The surface wind had freshened from the south and the pilot requested the use of the shorter Runway 21. The air/ground radio operator refused this request because he believed that the pilot had not been checked out to use this runway, as required by the Headcorn Aerodrome Manual. Accordingly, the pilot approached a nominated check pilot who agreed to observe his next flight. The check pilot briefed the pilot of OY-JRR on the procedures for using the short runway, emphasising the need to make an early decision to abort the takeoff if necessary. The check pilot stated that the pilot of OY-JRR performed a thorough pre-takeoff check using the full checklist available in the cockpit and that the subsequent flight was entirely satisfactory. Following the check flight the aircraft took off again at 1148 hrs and flew a further five flights, each separated by periods that ranged between 7 and 36 minutes. The check pilot observed several of these flights, all of which were from Runway 21, and most appeared to proceed normally. He and another witness noticed that on one occasion the climb gradient after takeoff appeared shallower than normal, but they believed that the wind speed had decreased at this time. The pilot recorded that the aircraft was refuelled again after landing at 1443 hrs, this time uplifting 266 ltr of fuel. The next takeoff was at 1447 hrs and having climbed to 12,000 ft again the aircraft landed at 1521 hrs. The accident occurred on the pilot’s eleventh flight of the day. Prior to the flight the aircraft was refuelled with a further 100 ltr at 1555 hrs. Shortly before 1605 hrs the aircraft taxied to Runway 21. It appeared to accelerate normally but at no time was the tail seen to rise in its usual manner prior to becoming airborne. Onboard, the experienced jump-master noticed that the aircraft was passing the aerodrome refuelling installation and several aircraft parked close to the runway, beyond the intersection of Runway 21 with Runway 29. He was aware that the aircraft had now passed the point where it would normally become airborne. Almost simultaneously, he heard the pilot shout “Abort”. One of the parachutists shouted to the other occupants “Brace - Brace, everyone on the floor”. The aircraft stopped abruptly when its left wing and cockpit collided with a camouflaged F100 fighter aircraft which was parked as a museum exhibit to the left of the southern edge of Runway 21. The occupants of the cabin were able to vacate the aircraft with mutual assistance. Members of the aerodrome fire service extinguished a small fire, which had started in the area of the engine, and other witnesses helped the occupants to move away from the aircraft. The pilot, however, remained unconscious in the cockpit. He was attended subsequently by paramedics and taken to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Crashed shortly after take off from Cali-Alfonso Bonilla Aragón Airport, bound for Medellín. Both occupants were injured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The crew was completing a positioning flight from Moscow to Berlin for maintenance purposes. After the crew was cleared to start up the engines, the aircraft was towed to the deicing pad where the crew requested a two-step deicing procedure. The deicing was completed at 1618LT and the crew was cleared for takeoff at 1636LT. After a course of 1,500 metres on runway 06 in snow falls, the pilot-in-command started the rotation when the aircraft rolled left and right. The right wing struck the ground, the aircraft went out of control, got inverted and crashed in a snow covered area located 450 metres further and 35 metres to the right of the runway. All three crew members escaped with minor injuries while the aircraft was destroyed. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were as follow: wind from 130 at 10 knots, horizontal visibility 1,000 metres in snow falls, vertical visibility 300 feet, OAT -6° and dewpoint at -7°.

The pilot departed Zweibrücken Airport on a flight to Athens with an intermediate stop in Split as the aircraft should be delivered to its new owner based in Greece. After takeoff from runway 21 at Zweibrücken Airport, while in initial climb, the aircraft deviated to the left while the standard departure route was a straight climb until 7 nm. The pilot was contacted by ATC and reported problems. Shortly later, the altitude of the aircraft fluctuated from 1,500 to 3,200 feet and again, the pilot was contacted by ATC to check the situation. Few seconds later, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in an open field located in Rieschweiler, about 6 km northeast of the airport. The aircraft was totally destroyed upon impact and the pilot, sole on board, was killed. It was reported that, prior to departure, the pilot encountered difficulties to close the main cabin door and had to be shown how to operate it. A member of the FBO staff then asked the pilot if he should explain the aircraft's avionics and, after the pilot replied yes, went on to describe how to operate the RNAV system. The pilot then had difficulty in starting the right engine and was directed to the 'ignition switch' on the overhead panel.

The aircraft was parked on the small apron at North Caicos Airport while the pilot went home to collect some personal items. One of the intended passengers saw the aircraft arrive. He remained in the vicinity until the pilot returned, and reported that the aircraft was unattended in the intervening time. When the pilot returned, four of the five passengers were gathered near the aircraft, and the last passenger arrived soon afterwards. The pilot, a local man well-known to the passengers, appeared to be his normal self and in good spirits. As most inter-island travel in the TCI is by air, the passengers were also familiar with the operator’s aircraft and used to travelling by air. Some had flown frequently on VQ-TIU. The pilot supervised embarkation and gave an emergency briefing. One passenger reported that the pilot made a mobile telephone call, which he presumed to be to Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Providenciales to notify them of the proposed flight. Prior to seating himself at the controls, the pilot told the passengers that they may expect some turbulence. The aircraft taxied onto the runway at its eastern end and along its length for a departure from Runway 08. It was about one hour after sunset and outside the airport’s normal operating hours, so there were no ATC personnel on duty. The runway lights were operated by the operator’s station manager. The aircraft took off at 1840 hrs. Soon after takeoff the aircraft was seen to start a turn to the right, which was consistent with its routing to Grand Turk, some 54 nm to the south-east. However, the aircraft reached a relatively large angle of bank and started to descend. The descent continued until it crashed with significant forward speed into an area of very shallow water. The aircraft broke up on impact, with the fuselage section coming to rest nearly inverted but comparatively intact. All those on board survived the impact sequence with varying degrees of injury. However, the pilot died before he could receive specialist medical treatment.

On take off from Narsarsuaq Airport, the single engine aircraft was caught by strong winds, veered off runway and collided with a bank. Both left wings were damaged while the undercarriage were torn off. Both pilots escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. A snow storm was approaching Narsarsuaq at the time of the accident.

Following a normal takeoff acceleration on runway 13 at Pau-Pyrénées Airport, the pilot-in-command started the rotation when the aircraft immediately rolled to the left. Then it rolled to the right and to the left again, lost height, struck the ground and bounced. At a speed of about 160 knots, the crew reduced the engine power when the aircraft rolled to the right of the runway, struck the perimeter fence then collided with a truck driving along a road. Upon touchdown, both main landing gears were torn off and the aircraft slid on its belly before coming to rest in an open field located 535 metres past the runway end. All 54 occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. The truck's driver was killed while his colleague was seriously injured.