Africa

The aircraft departed Sharm el-Sheikh at 0549LT bound for Saint Petersburg-Pulkovo Airport and was cleared to climb to FL350. On board were 217 passengers and a crew of seven. Some 23 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft entered a steep descent and reached a descent rate of 6,000 feet per minute with a simultaneous reduction of speed before all radar and radio contact were lost at 0613LT. The aircraft crashed in a desert area located about 50 km southeast of Hasna, in the Sinai. None of the 224 occupants survived the accident. It appears the aircraft crashed in a slightly flat attitude and was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire (the central part of the fuselage and wings). Based on the debris scattered on a zone of 16 km2, it is now understood that the engines and the tail have been found few hundred metres from the main wreckage. It is believed the aircraft partially disintegrated in the air but probably during the last phase of the descent and not at high altitude.

The aircraft Boeing 737-400, operated by Comair, flight number BA6234, was on a scheduled domestic flight operated under the provisions of Part 121 of the Civil Aviation Regulations (CARs). The aircraft was on the third leg for the day, after it had performed two uneventful legs. According to their recorded flight plan, the first leg departed from King Shaka International Airport (FALE) to O.R. Tambo International Airport (FAOR), the second leg was from FAOR to Port Elizabeth International Airport (FAPE) on the same day, during which the Captain was flying. During this third leg, the aircraft departed from FAPE at 0820Z on an instrument flight plan rule for FAOR. On board were six (6) crew members, ninety four (94) passengers and two (2) live animals. The departure from FAPE was uneventful, whereby the first officer (FO) was the flying pilot (FP) for this leg. During the approach to FAOR, the aircraft was cleared for landing on runway 03R. The accident occurred at approximately 1 km past the threshold. The crew stated that a few seconds after a successful touchdown, they felt the aircraft vibrating, during which they applied brakes and deployed the reverse thrust. The vibration was followed by the aircraft rolling slightly low to the left. It later came to a full stop slightly left of the runway centre line, resting on its right main landing gear and the number one engine, with the nose landing gear in the air. The crash alarm was activated by the FAOR Air Traffic Controller (ATC). The Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) personnel responded swiftly to the scene of the accident. The accident site was then secured with all relevant procedures put in place. The aircraft sustained substantial damage as the number one engine scraped along the runway surface when the landing gear detached from the fuselage. ARFF personnel had to prevent an engine fire in which they saw smoke as a result of runway contact. The occupants were allowed to disembark from the aircraft via the left aft door due to the attitude in which the aircraft came to rest. The accident occurred during daylight meteorological conditions on Runway 03R at O.R. Tambo International Airport (FAOR) located at GPS reading as: S 26°08’01.30” E 028°14’32.34” and the field elevation 5558 ft.

The crew was performing a cargo flight from Ostend to Mogadishu with an intermediate stop in Cairo with perishable goods on board on behalf of the AMISOM, the African Mission in Somalia. The final approach to Mogadishu-Aden Abdulle International Airport was performed by night. As the crew was unable to localize the runway, he abandoned the approach and initiated a go-around procedure. A second attempt was also interrupted and the crew initiated a new go-around then continued towards the north of the capital city. Eventually, the captain decided to attempt an emergency belly landing near Afgooye, about 25 km northwest of Mogadishu. Upon landing, the aircraft lost its both engines and came to rest in the bush. Two crew members were taken to hospital while four others were uninjured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair. According to Somalian Authorities, the International Airport of Mogadishu is open to traffic from 0600LT till 1800LT. For undetermined reason, the crew started the descent while the airport was already closed to all traffic (sunset at 1747LT). Also, an emergency landing was unavoidable, probably due to a fuel exhaustion. It is unknown why the crew did not divert to the alternate airport.

After landing on runway 23 at Tamale Airport, the four engine aircraft failed to stop within the remaining distance. It went through a fence that was delimiting a work area as the runway was subject to an extension. Upon impact, the nose gear was torn off and the aircraft slid for few dozen metres before coming to rest. All 76 occupants escaped uninjured but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. It was specified in a NOTAM that the runway 23 length was reduced to 1,860 meters and that works were in progress to extend runway 23, with the presence of men and equipment. So, caution was advised during landing and takeoff procedures.

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.

On 15 August 2015 at 2351Z a Cessna 441 aeroplane, with two crew and a paramedic on board took off from Eros Airport (FYWE) on a medical evacuation flight with their intended final destination Cape Town International Airport (FACT). The aircraft landed at Oranjemund (FYOG) to pick up a male patient and his daughter. At 0206Z the aircraft departed from FYOG on a mercy flight to FACT. At 0343Z the aircraft made the first contact with FACT area and the aircraft was put under radar control. At 0355Z, area control advised the crew that there was a complete radar failure. The aircraft was on a descent to 6500 ft when approach advised them to prepare for a VOR approach for runway 19. At 0429Z, while on approach for landing at FACT, all contact was lost with the aircraft. At approximately 0556Z the aircraft’s wreckage was located approximately 8 nm to the north of FACT. All five occupants on board were fatally injured and the aircraft was destroyed by impact and post impact fire. The investigation revealed the aircraft collided with terrain during instrument meteorological condition (IMC) conditions while on the VOR approach for Runway 19 at FACT. At the time the ILS was working, however the approach controller offered a VOR approach for separation with an outbound aircraft as the radar was unserviceable.

On 11th June, 2015, at about 18:25 h, an HS-125-800XP aircraft with nationality and registration marks N497AG, operated by SWAT Technology Limited departed Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja (DNAA) for Port Harcourt International Airport (DNPO) as a charter flight on an Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) flight plan. There were five persons on board inclusive of three flight crew and two passengers. The Captain was the Pilot Flying while the Co-pilot was the Pilot Monitoring. At 18:48 h, N497AG established contact with Lagos and Port Harcourt Air Traffic Control (ATC) units cruising at Flight Level (FL) 280. At 18:55 h, the aircraft was released by Lagos to continue with Port Harcourt. Port Harcourt cleared N497AG for descent to FL210. At 19:13 h, the crew reported field in sight at 6 nautical miles to touch down to the Tower Controller (TC). TC then cleared the aircraft to land with caution “runway surface wet”. The crew experienced light rain at about 1.3 nautical miles to touch down with runway lights ON for the ILS approach. At about 1,000 ft after the extension of landing gears, the PM remarked ‘Okay...I got a little rain on the windshield’ and the PF responded, ‘We don’t have wipers sir... (Laugh) Na wa o (Na wa o – local parlance, - pidgin, for expression of surprise). From the CVR, at Decision Height, the PM called out ‘minimums’ while the PF called back ‘landing’ as his intention. The PM reported that the runway edge lights were visible on the left side. On the right side, it was missing to a large extent and only appeared for about a quarter of the way from the runway 03 end. The PM observed that the aircraft was slightly to the left of the “centreline” and pointed out “right, right, more right.” The PM further stated that at 50 ft, the PF retarded power and turned to the left. At 40 ft, the PM cautioned the PF to ‘keep light in sight don’t go to the left’. At 20 ft, the PM again said, ‘keep on the right’. PF replied, ‘Are you sure that’s not the centre line?’. At 19:16 h, the aircraft touched down with left main wheel in the grass and the right main wheel on the runway but was steered back onto the runway. The PF stated, “...but just on touchdown the right-hand lights were out, and in a bid to line up with the lights we veered off the runway to the left”. The nose wheel landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft stopped on the runway. The engines were shut down and all persons on board disembarked without any injury. From the CVR recordings, the PF told the PM that he mistook the brightly illuminated left runway edge lights for the runway centreline and apologized for the error of judgement for which the PM responded ‘I told you’. The aircraft was towed out of the runway and parked at GAT Apron at 21:50 h. The accident occurred at night in light rain.

The single engine airplane suffered an accident upon landing at Mandeng Airfield. The undercarriage were torn off and the aircraft was severely damaged. There were no casualties.

En route from Saurimo to Luanda, the crew encountered technical problems and was cleared to divert to Malanje Airport for an emergency landing. Upon landing on an unlit runway, the aircraft veered off runway and came to rest, bursting into flames. All 50 occupants escaped uninjured and the aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire. The exact cause of the technical failure remains unknown.

The aircraft departed Quelimane on a cargo/military/supply mission to Mocuba, carrying six crew members and a load of equipment for the victims of the recent flood in northern Mozambique. Shortly after takeoff, one of the engines failed. The crew attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crash landed in a field and came to rest about 150 metres past the runway end. All six occupants escaped uninjured and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.