Crash of a Learjet 35A in Río Grande: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jul 1, 2022 at 1410 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
LV-BPA
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Río Grande – San Fernando
MSN:
35-143
YOM:
1978
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Captain / Total flying hours:
9338
Captain / Total hours on type:
2122.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
6913
Copilot / Total hours on type:
717
Aircraft flight hours:
13917
Aircraft flight cycles:
13170
Circumstances:
The airplane was returning to its base in San Fernando following an ambulance flight from Comodoro Rivadavia to Río Grande. After takeoff from Río Grande-Gobernador Ramón Trejo Noel Airport runway 26, while in initial climb, the airplane rolled to the left, nosed down and crashed in a huge explosion about 350 metres south from the runway 08 threshold. The wreckage was found 1,870 metres from the runway 26 threshold and 300 metres to its left. The aircraft was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all four occupants were killed.
Crew:
Claudio Canelo, pilot,
Héctor Vittore, copilot.
Passengers:
Diego Ciolfi, doctor,
Denise Torres Garcá, nurse.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-76MD at Dyagilevo AFB: 5 killed

Date & Time: Jun 24, 2022 at 0305 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
RF-78778
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Dyagilevo AFB - Belgorod
MSN:
00834 89659
YOM:
1988
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Dyagilevo AFB (Ryazan) on a night flight apparently to Belgorod, carrying nine crew members. After takeoff, the engine n°4 caught fire. The crew elected to return for an emergency landing but the aircraft went out of control and crashed about one km from the airbase, bursting into flames. Four crew members were seriously injured and five others were killed. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire.

Crash of a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 in Miami

Date & Time: Jun 21, 2022 at 1738 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
HI1064
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Santo Domingo - Miami
MSN:
53027/1805
YOM:
1990
Flight number:
L5203
Crew on board:
10
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
130
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
14388
Captain / Total hours on type:
1400.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
822
Copilot / Total hours on type:
269
Aircraft flight hours:
69838
Aircraft flight cycles:
36990
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Santo Domingo-Las Américas Airport, the crew was cleared to land on runway 09 at Miami-Intl Airport. The first officer recalled that the airplane touched down smoothly on the right and then the left main landing gear and that the airplane was slightly to the right of the centerline, which he corrected after touching down. Shortly afterward, the flight crew felt a vibration on the left side of the airplane. The vibration increased, and the airplane veered to the left despite the crew’s efforts to maintain the airplane on the runway centerline. The airplane subsequently departed the paved runway surface and impacted the glideslope equipment building for runway 30, which was located to the left of runway 09, causing the nose landing gear and the right main landing gear to collapse. A post crash fire began on the right wing after the fuel tank on that wing was breached, after which the airplane came to a stop. Nevertheless, fire was quickly extinguished and all 140 occupants evacuated safely, among them four passengers were taken to Jackson Hospital.
Probable cause:
The collapse of the left main landing gear during the landing roll resulted in a runway excursion due to a loss of controllability on the runway, during which the aircraft impacted a small equipment building, breaching the right-wing fuel tank and causing a post-crash fire. The performance of the crew was thoroughly evaluated during this investigation and found to be appropriate for the circumstances of the accident.
The focus of this analysis is the cause of the left main landing gear collapse. Particularly
(1) the left shimmy damper’s failure to adequately dampen vibration during landing and
(2) the failure of the left main gear downlock mechanism due to excessive vibration.
The structural failure of the left main landing gear downlock following ineffective shimmy dampening during the landing roll which caused the collapse of the left main landing gear, resulting in a runway excursion and post-flight fire.
Final Report:

Crash of a Piper PA-31-310 in Deadmans Cay: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jun 5, 2022 at 0905 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N711JW
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Deadmans Cay - Nassau
MSN:
31-7712084
YOM:
1977
Country:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
6
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Aircraft flight hours:
7102
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Deadmans Cay Airport Runway 09, while climbing, both engines lost power simultaneously. The airplane went out of control, impacted trees and crashed some 3 km northwest of the airfield. The airplane came to rest in bushes and was destroyed by impact forces. There was no fire. Among the seven people on board, a woman passenger was killed and six other occupants were injured.
Probable cause:
The AAIA has determined the probable cause of this accident to be Loss of Power (Dual) resulting in a loss of control inflight (LOC-I), and subsequent uncontrolled flight into terrain.
Final Report:

Crash of a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan in Oceanside: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jun 3, 2022 at 1347 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N7581F
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Oceanside - Oceanside
MSN:
208B-0389
YOM:
1994
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Captain / Total flying hours:
6880
Captain / Total hours on type:
161.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
805
Copilot / Total hours on type:
25
Aircraft flight hours:
13379
Circumstances:
The pilots were performing skydiving flights while the right-seated pilot was training the left-seated pilot on the operation. The pilots completed six flights without incident and completed the drop of the skydivers on the accident flight normally. The right-seated pilot could not completely recollect the minutes leading up to the accident due to his injuries. He did recall that airplane was descending as expected with the power at idle. The recorded ADS-B data revealed that after turning onto final approach, the airplane then completed a right 360° turn presumably because the altitude was too high. The right-seated pilot attempted to increase the power by slightly nudging the throttle forward and thought the engine power did not increase as expected. A performance study revealed that in the last 70 seconds of recorded data, the airplane underwent a series of speed and thrust oscillations consistent with a pilot increasing and then decreasing the power lever. The right seat pilot recalls aiming for an open dirt field and observing a berm in the immediate flight path. In an effort to avoid the berm, he maneuvered the airplane into a right turn. The airplane landed short of the runway, resulting in a collision with the berm. The engine was producing power at the time of impact. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The right-seated pilot was in the process of training the left-seated pilot and stated that he took over the controls during the final approach. It is unknown when he took over the controls, so it is unknown which pilot was at the controls during the speed oscillations. The right-seated pilot likely took over the controls too late and the airplane impacted the terrain. The left-seated pilot’s ability to hear the changes in engine power might have been hindered because she was listening to music through her headset at an elevated decibel level. The airplane was modified by a Supplemental Type Certificate that replaces the original Pratt & Whitney PT-6 turbine engine with a Honeywell TPE331 turbine engine. The TPE331 engine’s characteristics are such that if the airplane is on final approach with the power near idle, the throttle sensitivity (change in thrust per unit of power lever movement) increases around the transition between the propellergoverning and underspeed-governing modes of the engine, which corresponds to a zero-thrust condition. Near this transition point, small movements of the power lever (about ¼ to ½ inch of deflection) can result in relatively large thrust changes that can surprise pilots inexperienced with this behavior and result in pilot-induced oscillations (PIO). Given the thrust oscillations observed shortly before the end of the ADS-B data, it is likely that the left-seated pilot was at the controls and experienced such a PIO on a short final approach to land.
Probable cause:
The right-seated pilot’s failure to correct the left-seated pilot’s mismanagement of the engine thrust, which resulted in undesired speed and thrust oscillations during the final approach and a subsequent descent into terrain.
Final Report:

Crash of a De Havilland DHC-3 Otter in Dry Bay

Date & Time: May 24, 2022 at 1510 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N703TH
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Yakutat – Dry Bay
MSN:
456
YOM:
1965
Location:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
24000
Captain / Total hours on type:
6100.00
Circumstances:
The purpose of the flight was to transport three passengers and cargo. The pilot reported that, during takeoff, the airplane’s tail came up slightly lowered to the runway when he attempted to raise the tail by applying forward elevator. He stated that he thought this was unusual and attributed it to an aft-loaded airplane. He applied additional nose-down trim and departed without incident. While en route, the tail of the airplane seemed to move up and down, which the pilot attributed to turbulence. Upon arrival at his destination, the pilot entered a left downwind, reduced the power and extended the flaps to 10° abeam the end of the runway. He turned onto the base leg about ½ mile from the approach end of the runway and slowed the airplane to 80 mph. Turning final, he noticed the airplane seemed to pitch up, so he applied full nose-down pitch trim and extended the flaps an additional 10°. On short final he applied full flaps, and the airplane abruptly pitched up to about a 45° angle. He stated that he applied full nose-down elevator, verified the pitch trim, and reduced the power to idle. When the airplane was about 300 ft above ground level, the airplane stalled, the left wing dropped slightly, and the airplane entered about a 45° nose-down dive. After allowing the airplane to gain airspeed, the pilot applied full back elevator. The airplane impacted forested terrain near the approach end of runway 23 at an elevation of about 18 ft. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Elevator and rudder control continuity was confirmed from the cockpit to the respective control surfaces. The airplane's estimated gross weight at the time of the accident was about 7,796 lbs and the airplane's estimated center of gravity was about 3.2 to 5.6 inches beyond the approved aft limit. Maximum gross weight for the airplane is 8,000 lbs.
Probable cause:
The pilot’s failure to determine the actual weight and balance of the airplane before departure, which resulted in the airplane being operated outside of the aft center of gravity limits and the subsequent aerodynamic stall on final approach. Contributing to the accident was the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to require weight and balance documentation for 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 135 single-engine operations.
Final Report:

Crash of an Embraer EMB-110P1 Bandeirante in Eldorado do Sul

Date & Time: May 20, 2022
Operator:
Registration:
PT-SHN
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Jundiaí – Eldorado do Sul
MSN:
110-460
YOM:
1985
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Jundiaí on a cargo flight to Eldorado do Sul, carrying two pilots and a load of automotive parts. On final approach, the airplane crash landed in a rice paddy field and came to rest with its left wing detached. Both pilots were slightly injured.

Crash of an Airbus A319-115 in Chongqing

Date & Time: May 12, 2022 at 0805 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
B-6425
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Chongqing – Nyingchi
MSN:
5157
YOM:
2012
Flight number:
TV9833
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
113
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Aircraft flight hours:
28364
Aircraft flight cycles:
14495
Circumstances:
The airplane was departing Chongqing-Jiangbei Airport on a regular schedule service to Nyingchi, Tibet, carrying 113 passengers and a crew of nine. During the takeoff roll on runway 03, at a speed of 145 knots (just below V1 speed), the captain encountered an unexpected situation and decided to abandon the takeoff procedure. He initiated an emergency braking manoeuvre when the airplane started to deviate to the left. It veered off runway and went through a grassy area. While contacting the parallel concrete taxiway, the nose gear was sheared off. The airplane continued for 120 metres when it impacted a drainage ditch, causing both main landing gears and both engines to be sheared off as well. The airplane later came into a stop, bursting into flames. 36 occupants were injured while all others evacuated safely. The aircraft was destroyed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that, during the takeoff run, the captain was distracted by items falling, and momentarily lost the monitoring of the aircraft's flight sequence. During this short period of time, he unconsciously held the left rudder, which resulted in an unintended deviation of the aircraft to the left direction. After he noticed the deviation, the crew failed to execute the standard callouts, and the captain reduced the throttle in an attempt to abort the takeoff. Due to the combined effects of maximum braking force and inertia, the crew was unable to maintain a safe control, causing the airplane to veer off the runway to the left at a speed of approximately 127 knots. Poor decision makings on part of the crew was considered as the main cause of the accident.
Final Report:

Crash of a Cessna 208 Caravan I in Boituva: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 11, 2022 at 1213 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
PT-OQR
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Boituva - Boituva
MSN:
208-0219
YOM:
1992
Country:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
14
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The single engine airplane departed Boituva Aerodrome on a local skydiving mission, carrying 14 skydivers and one pilot. After takeoff, the pilot apparently encountered electrical problems and elected to return for an emergency landing. Shortly later, the aircraft collided with high tension wires, stalled and crashed inverted in a field. Two passengers were killed while all other occupants were injured.

Crash of a Cessna 421C Golden Eagle III in Houston

Date & Time: May 6, 2022 at 1418 LT
Operator:
Registration:
XB-FQS
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Houston – San Antonio
MSN:
421C-0085
YOM:
1976
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
4025
Captain / Total hours on type:
951.00
Aircraft flight hours:
5197
Circumstances:
The pilot reported that, before the flight, the airplane was fueled with 140 gallons of Jet A fuel. Shortly after takeoff, both engines lost total power. Because the airplane had insufficient altitude to return to the airport, the pilot executed a forced landing to a field and the left wing sustained substantial damage. A postcrash fire ensued. The investigation determined that the airplane was inadvertently fueled with Jet A fuel rather than AVGAS, which was required for the airplane’s reciprocating engines. The line service worker who fueled the airplane reported that there were no decals at the airplane fuel ports; however, postaccident examination of the airplane found that a decal specifying AVGAS was present at the right-wing fuel port. The investigation could not determine whether the same or a similar decal was present at the left-wing fuel port because the left wing was partially consumed during the postimpact fire.
Probable cause:
The fixed-base operator’s incorrect fueling of the airplane, which resulted in a total loss of power in both engines.
Final Report: