Africa

The four engine aircraft was performing a cargo flight from Glasgow-Prestwick to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, with intermediate stops in Ghardaïa and Tamanrasset. On board were seven crew members and a load consisting of oil equipment. About three minutes after takeoff from Tamanrasset-Aguenar-Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport, radio contact was lost when the aircraft crashed in a mountainous terrain located some 15 km south of the airport. The wreckage was found few hours later. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all seven crew members (six Ukrainians and one Russian) were killed.

Crash of a Let L-410UVP near Mulume Munene: 4 killed

Date & Time: Aug 23, 2014 at 1355 LT

Type of aircraft:

Let L-410

Operator:

Registration:

9Q-CXB

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Bukavu - Kama

MSN:

82 09 25

YOM:

1982

Location:

Mulume Munene

Sud-Kivu

Country:

Democratic Republic of Congo

Region:

Africa

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The twin engine aircraft departed Bukavu-Kavumu Airport at 1342LT on a cargo flight to Kama, carrying two pilots, two passengers and a load of 1,500 kilos of books. Some 10 minutes later, the crew changed his frequency and no further contact was established. As the aircraft failed to arrive in Kama, Maniema Province, SAR operations were initiated. The crew of two helicopters from the same operator spotted the burnt wreckage two days later, in the region of Mulume Munene, some 30 km southwest of Bukavu. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all four occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It is believed that the crew lost control of the aircraft following an engine failure in flight for unknown reasons.

Crash of an MD-83 near Gossi: 116 killed

Date & Time: Jul 24, 2014 at 0147 LT

Type of aircraft:

McDonnell Douglas MD-83

Operator:

Registration:

EC-LTV

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Desert

Schedule:

Ouagadougou - Algiers

MSN:

53190/2148

YOM:

1996

Flight number:

AH5017

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

110

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

116

Captain / Total flying hours:

12988

Captain / Total hours on type:

10007.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

7016

Copilot / Total hours on type:

6180

Aircraft flight hours:

38362

Aircraft flight cycles:

32390

Circumstances:

The Swiftair MD-83 was performing flight AH5017 on behalf of Air Algérie (this regular schedule is performed four times a week). The aircraft left Ouagadougou at 0117Z and was attempting to land in Algiers at 0510LT but failed to arrive. 116 people (110 passengers and a crew of 6) were on board. The last position of the MD-83 was west of Gao, Mali. In the evening of July 24 (some 16 hours after the aircraft disappearance), the wreckage was eventually located and spotted some 50 km west of the city of Gossi, south Mali. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and no survivors was found among the 116 occupants. At the time of the accident, bad weather conditions with storm activity, winds, turbulence and icing was confirmed over the region of Gao, until an altitude of 40,000 feet. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was flying west of this marginal weather area and referring to the French BEA graphic, the aircraft did not properly get around this turbulent area. It was confirmed the aircraft started a left turn from the altitude of 31,000 feet and then spiraled to the ground in less than three minutes (140° bank left and 80° nose down until impact). The last position recorded by the FDR at 0147LT and 15 seconds was at the altitude of 1,600 feet (490 meters) and at a speed of 380 KIAS (740 km/h) with a very high rate of descent.

Probable cause:

About two minutes after leveling off at an altitude of 31,000 ft, calculations performed by the manufacturer and validated by the investigation team indicate that the recorded EPR, the main parameter for engine power management, became erroneous on the right engine and then about 55 seconds later on the left engine. This was likely due to icing of the pressure sensors located on the engine nose cones. If the engine anti-ice protection system is activated, these pressure sensors are heated by hot air. Analysis of the available data indicates that the crew likely did not activate the system during climb and cruise. As a result of the icing of the pressure sensors, the erroneous information transmitted to the auto throttle meant that the latter limited the thrust delivered by the engines. Under these conditions, the thrust was insufficient to maintain cruise speed and the aeroplane slowed down. The autopilot then commanded an increase in the airplane's pitch attitude in order to maintain the altitude in spite of this loss of speed. This explains how, from the beginning of the error in measuring the EPR values, the airplane’s speed dropped from 290 kt to 200 kt in about 5 minutes and 35 seconds and the angle of attack increased until the aeroplane stalled. About 20 seconds after the beginning of the aeroplane stall, the autopilot was disengaged. The aeroplane rolled suddenly to the left until it reached a bank angle of 140°, and a nose-down pitch of 80°. The recorded parameters indicate that there were no stall recovery maneuvers by the crew. However, in the moments following the aeroplane stall, the flight control surfaces remained deflected nose-up and in a right roll. It was concluded that the accident was caused by the combination of several factors, among them the fact that the engine anti-icing systems were not activated by the crew. The final report is not available in English yet.

Final Report: