Crash of a Piper PA-31P-425 Navajo in Dalton: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jun 30, 2012 at 1620 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
N33CG
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Dalton - Dalton
MSN:
31-7300157
YOM:
1973
Location:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Captain / Total flying hours:
1685
Circumstances:
According to a friend of the pilot, the pilot was taking the airplane to have an annual inspection completed. The friend assisted the pilot before departure and watched as the airplane departed. He did not notice any anomalies with the airplane during the takeoff or the climbout. According to a witness in the vicinity of the accident site, he heard the airplane coming toward him, and it was flying very low. He looked up and saw the airplane approximately 200 feet over his house and descending toward the trees. As he watched the airplane, he noticed that the right propeller was not turning, and the right engine was not running. He stated that the left engine sounded as if it was running at full power. The airplane pitched up to avoid a power line and rolled to the right, descending below the tree line. A plume of smoke and an explosion followed. Examination of the right propeller assembly revealed evidence of significant frontal impact. The blades were bent but did not have indications of rotational scoring; thus they likely were not rotating at impact. One preload plate impact mark indicated that the blades were at an approximate 23-degree angle; blades that are feathered are about 86 degrees. Due to fire and impact damage of the right engine and related system components, the reason for the loss of power could not be determined. An examination of the airframe and left engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A review of the airplane maintenance logbooks revealed that the annual inspection was 12 days overdue. According to Lycoming Service Instruction No. 1009AS, the recommended time between engine overhaul is 1,200 hours or 12 years, whichever occurs first. A review of the right engine maintenance logbook revealed that the engine had accumulated 1,435 hours since major overhaul and that neither engine had been overhauled within the preceding 12 years. Although the propeller manufacturer recommends that the propeller be feathered before the engine rpm drops below 1,000 rpm, a review of the latest revision of the pilot operating handbook (POH) revealed that the feathering procedure for engine failure did not specify this. It is likely that the pilot did not feather the right propeller before the engine reached the critical 1,000 rpm, which prevented the propeller from engaging in the feathered position
Probable cause:
The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control following loss of power in the right engine for reasons that could not be determined because of fire and impact damage. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s delayed feathering of the right propeller following the loss of engine power and the lack of specific emergency procedures in the pilot operating handbook indicating the need to feather the propellers before engine rpm falls below 1,000 rpm.
Final Report:

Crash of an Ilyushin II-76MD in Tver

Date & Time: Jun 27, 2012 at 0029 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
RA-76761
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Tver - Tver
MSN:
00734 79401
YOM:
1987
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a local training mission at Migalovo AFB and was performing touch-and-go manoeuvres. By night, the aircraft was approaching in a nose-down attitude when the nose gear landed hard first. It penetrated the floor just behind the cockpit. The aircraft slid for few dozen metres before coming to rest on runway. All four crew members evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair as the fuselage was wrinkled.
Probable cause:
It is likely that following a wrong approach configuration, the aircraft landed nose first with a high aerodynamic acceleration.

Crash of a Cessna 207 Skywagon in Clinceni

Date & Time: Jun 23, 2012 at 1110 LT
Registration:
D-EBBG
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Clinceni - Clinceni
MSN:
207-0108
YOM:
1969
Location:
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
3656
Captain / Total hours on type:
182.00
Aircraft flight hours:
9019
Circumstances:
The single engine aircraft was engaged in skydiving flights at Clinceni Airport. Shortly after takeoff, while climbing to a height of about 200 feet, the engine failed. The pilot attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crash landed in a field located 300 meters past the runway end. A skydiver was slightly injured while three other occupants were unhurt. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
The connecting rod in the second cylinder failed during initial climb, causing the engine to stop. The authorization to operate skydiving flights was canceled 21 April 2012.
Final Report:

Crash of a Fokker F27 Friendship 400M in Jakarta: 11 killed

Date & Time: Jun 21, 2012 at 1450 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
A-2708
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Jakarta - Jakarta
MSN:
10546
YOM:
1976
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
11
Circumstances:
The crew (one instructor and six pilot under training) were engaged in a training flight and departed Jakarta-Halim Perdanakusuma Airport at 1310LT for a local flight consisting of touch-and-go manoeuvres. After a circuit, the pilot-in-command completed a last turn to the left to join the glide for runway 18 when the aircraft stalled and crashed onto several houses located less than one km from the runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed as well as several houses. Six occupants in the aircraft and four people on the ground were killed while the copilot was critically injured. Unfortunately, he did not survive to his severe injuries and died few hours later at hospital.
Probable cause:
It was reported that the approach speed was too low during the last turn, causing the aircraft to stall. The distance between the aircraft and the ground was insufficient to expect recovery.

Crash of a Grumman G-159 Gulfstream GI in Pweto

Date & Time: Jun 20, 2012
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
9Q-CIT
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Lubumbashi - Pweto
MSN:
193
YOM:
1968
Location:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful charter flight from Lubumbashi-Lueno Airport, the crew made a steep approach followed by a hard landing. The aircraft bounced and climbed to a height of about 20 feet, landed again and went out of control. It veered off runway to the left, collided with a rocky embankment, lost its undercarriage and came to rest, broken in several pieces. All five occupants escaped uninjured while the airplane was destroyed.
Probable cause:
Wrong approach configuration after the crew made a sharp turn late on final to join the glide. The rate of descent was excessive during the last segment, causing the aircraft to land hard and to bounce. Due to excessive g-loads and aerodynamic forces, the airplane went out of control.

Crash of a Beechcraft Beechjet 400A in Atlanta

Date & Time: Jun 18, 2012 at 1006 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N826JH
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Gadsden - Atlanta
MSN:
RK-70
YOM:
1993
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
10800
Captain / Total hours on type:
1500.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
3500
Copilot / Total hours on type:
150
Aircraft flight hours:
4674
Circumstances:
The second-in-command (SIC) was the pilot flying for most of the flight (takeoff, climb, cruise, and descent) and was in the left seat, while the pilot-in-command (PIC) was the pilot monitoring for most of the flight and was in the right seat. Before takeoff, the PIC calculated reference speed (Vref) for the estimated landing weight and flaps 30-degree extension was 120 knots, with a calculated landing distance of 3,440 ft. Further, before takeoff, there were no known mechanical difficulties with the brakes, flaps, antiskid, or traffic alert and collision avoidance (TCAS) systems. After takeoff and for most of the flight, the PIC coached/instructed the SIC, including instructions on how to set the airspeed command cursor, a request to perform the after-takeoff checklist, and a comment to reduce thrust to silence an overspeed warning aural annunciation. When the flight was northwest of Dekalb Peachtree Airport (PDK), Atlanta, Georgia, on a right base leg for a visual approach to runway 20L with negligible wind, air traffic controllers repeatedly announced the location and distance of a Cessna airplane (which was ahead of the Beech 400A on a straight-in visual approach to runway 20R). Because the Beech 400A flight crew did not see the other airplane, the controllers appropriately instructed them to maintain their altitude (which was 2,300 ft mean sea level [msl]) for separation until they had the traffic in sight; radar data indicated the Beech 400A briefly descended to 2,200 ft msl then climbed back to 2,300 ft msl. According to the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript, at 1004:42, which was about 12 seconds after the controller instructed the Beech 400A flight crew to maintain altitude, the on board TCAS alerted "traffic traffic." While the Beech 400A did climb back to 2,300 ft msl, this was likely a response to the air traffic control (ATC) instruction to maintain altitude and not a response to the TCAS "traffic traffic" warning. At 1004:47, the CVR recorded the SIC state, "first degree of," likely referring to flap extension, but the comment was not completed. The CVR recorded an immediate increase in background noise, which was likely due to the landing gear extension. The PIC then advised the local controller that the flight was turning onto final approach. The CVR did not record any approach briefing or discussion of runway length or Vref speed. After landing on runway 20L at Atlanta-DeKalb Peachtree Airport, aircraft did not stop as expected. It overrun the runway, went through a fence and came to rest near a road, broken in two. All four occupants were injured, both pilots seriously.
Probable cause:
The flight crew's failure to obtain the proper airspeed for landing, which resulted in the airplane touching down too fast with inadequate runway remaining to stop and a subsequent
runway overrun. Contributing to the accident were the failure of either pilot to call for a go-around and the flight crew's poor crew resource management and lack of professionalism.
Final Report:

Crash of an ATR42-320 in Jersey

Date & Time: Jun 16, 2012 at 0823 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-DRFC
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Guernsey - Jersey
MSN:
007
YOM:
1986
Flight number:
BCI308
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
40
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
6106
Captain / Total hours on type:
1255.00
Circumstances:
The crew, comprising a commander, co-pilot and cabin crewmember, reported for duty at 0620 hrs at Guernsey Airport. The commander was conducting line training of the co-pilot, a first officer who had recently joined the companyThe first sector was to be from Guernsey to Jersey. No problems were identified during the pre-flight preparation and the aircraft departed on time at 0705 hrs, with the commander acting as handling pilot. The short flight was without incident and the weather for landing was reported as good, with the wind from 210° at 16 kt, FEW cloud at 2,000 ft and visibility in excess of 10 km. The commander elected to carry out a visual approach to Runway 27 at Jersey, using a planned approach speed of 107 kt and flap 30 selected for landing. During the approach, the gear was selected down and the flight crew confirmed the three green ‘gear safe’ indication lights were illuminated, indicating that the gear was locked in the down position. The commander reported that both the approach and touchdown seemed normal, with the crosswind from the left resulting in the left main gear touching first. Just after touchdown both pilots heard a noise and the commander stated the aircraft appeared to settle slightly differently from usual. This made him believe that a tyre had burst. The cabin crew member also heard a noise after touchdown which she too thought was from a tyre bursting. The commander selected ground idle and partial reverse pitch and, as the aircraft decelerated through 70 kt, the co-pilot took over control of the ailerons, as per standard procedures, to allow the commander to take control of the steering tiller. The co-pilot reported that despite applying corrective inputs the aircraft continued rolling to the left. A member of ground operations staff, situated at Holding Point E, reported to the tower controller that the left landing gear leg of the aircraft did not appear to be down properly as it passed him. The aircraft continued to quickly roll to the left until the left wingtip and propeller contacted the runway. The aircraft remained on the runway, rapidly coming to a halt to the left of the centreline, approximately abeam Holding Point D. Both propellers continued to rotate and the commander selected the condition levers to the fuel shutoff position and pulled the fire handles to shut both engines down. The tower controller, seeing the incident, pressed the crash alarm and airfield emergency services were quickly in attendance.
Probable cause:
The recorded data indicates that the rate of descent during the final approach phase was not excessive and remained low through the period of the touchdown. Although the registered vertical acceleration at ground contact was high, this is not consistent with the recorded descent rate and is believed to have been the effect of the close physical proximity of the accelerometer to the location of the fractured side brace. It is reasonable to assume that the release of strain energy during the fracturing process produced an instant shock load recorded as a 3 g spike.The general nature of the failure mechanism precipitating the collapse of the landing gear is clear. A fatigue crack propagated through most of the cross-section of one side of an attachment lug of the left main landing gear side brace upper arm. This continued as a final region of ductile cracking until complete failure occurred. The increased loading, during normal operation, on other elements of the twin lugs, once the initial crack was large or had passed completely through the section, led to overloading in the other section of the forward lug and both sections of the aft lug. This caused rapid onset of three small areas of fatigue damage followed by ductile overload failure of both lugs. The failure rendered the side brace ineffective and the unrestrained main trunnion continued to translate outboard leading to the collapse of the gear. The aluminium was found to be within the specifications to which it was made. The initial fatigue crack emanated from a feature which was inter-granular and high in titanium content, which was probably a TiB2 particle introduced during grain refining. This was surrounded by an area consistent with static loading before propagating a crack in fatigue. Given that there was not a measurable effect on the fatigue life of the material with the feature, and that an area of static overload was evident immediately surrounding the TiB2 particle, it is therefore concluded that at some time during the life of the side brace component it probably suffered a single loading event sufficient to exploit the presence of the origin, initiating a crack that remained undetectable until failure.
Final Report:

Ground fire of an Avro 748-264-2A in Sandy Lake

Date & Time: Jun 12, 2012 at 1343 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
C-FTTW
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Pickle Lake – Sandy Lake
MSN:
1681
YOM:
1970
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The aircraft was parked on the ramp at Sandy Lake Airport. The flight crew had disembarked and were off-loading the cargo (JET A-1 jet fuel drums) from the aircraft to fuel tanks adjacent to the ramp. A fire broke out and the flight crew used the available fire extinguishers but the fire spread and consumed most of the aircraft that was totally destroyed. There were no injuries.
Probable cause:
A leak occurred in a hose downstream of the pumps (located on the ground beside the aircraft). The ambient wind blew vapors toward the pumps and a fire broke out. No official investigation was conducted by the TSB on this event.

Crash of a Let L-410UVP in Borodyanka: 5 killed

Date & Time: Jun 10, 2012 at 1040 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
UR-SKD
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Borodyanka - Borodyanka
MSN:
81 07 21
YOM:
1981
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
20
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
Owned by Skaidens (Skydance), the twin engine aircraft was engaged on local skydiving mission and operated on behalf of the Ukrainska Shkola Pilotov (Ukrainian Pilots' School). On board were 20 skydivers and two pilots. After take off from Borodyanka Aerodrome, the crew realized that weather conditions deteriorated and that a thunderstorm was approaching the airfield. The crew decided to cancel the mission and to return to the airport. On final approach, the aircraft encountered downdrafts and microburst. It lost height and crashed in a field some 900 meters short of runway threshold. Five skydivers were killed while 17 other occupants were injured, some seriously.
Probable cause:
According to the findings of the commission of inquiry, the most likely cause of the crash was the impact of the aircraft in a low-altitude wind due to strong downward air flow (micro-burst) during the landing of the aircraft in thunderstorms due to coincidence of the following negative factors.
- Failure of the crew to perform a go around or divert to the alternate aerodrome;
- A rapid increase in the speed of movement of the thunderstorm in the direction of the Borodyanka airfield area;
- Lack of training on the simulator in the conditions of wind shear, lack of experience in the crew on approach to landing in the conditions of wind shear, in particular micro-burst;
- Insufficient aeronautical equipment (lack of meteorological radar on the plane and airfield);
- Lack of information for the crew about the forecasted and actual meteorological conditions at the landing aerodrome, warnings about the forecasted / available wind shift at Borodyanka aerodrome;
- The crew was not sufficiently informed about the flight conditions due to insufficient lighting of the cockpit and failure of the instrumentation of the aircraft due to a power failure during approach in thunderstorm conditions;
- Lack of sufficient experience of the crew to perform activities and landings in conditions when the landing weight exceeded the maximum allowable, due to the presence of skydivers on board the aircraft;
- Motivation of the crew to perform the landing approach on the first attempt, due to insufficient information about the storm at the aerodrome. The information on wind increase and its direction (provided to the pilot) was perceived by the crew as possible conditions for landing because their parameters did not exceed the limits allowed by the AOM of the aircraft;
- Overloading of the aircraft, motivation of the decision of the captain to perform landing at the aerodrome of departure (Borodyanka) due to the presence of unregistered passengers on board, due to improper organization of boarding of skydivers at the aerodrome Borodyanka;
- Insufficient organization of flights at Borodyanka airfield in terms of meteorological support;
- Insufficient (weak) regulatory, regulatory, legislative framework for parachuting.

Crash of a Learjet 60 in Aspen

Date & Time: Jun 7, 2012 at 1224 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
N500SW
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Miami-Opa Locka - Aspen
MSN:
60-017
YOM:
1993
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
6
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
18000
Captain / Total hours on type:
600.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
13500
Aircraft flight hours:
6456
Circumstances:
While the first officer was flying the airplane on a visual approach to the airport located in a steep mountain valley, the tower controller informed him that the pilot of a Citation that had landed about 10 minutes earlier had reported low-level windshear with a 15-knot loss of airspeed on short final. The first officer used the spoilers while on the left base leg and then maneuvered the airplane in an "S-turn" on the final leg to correct for a too-steep approach. Just as the airplane was about to touch down with the airspeed decreasing, the captain made several calls for "power" and then called for a "go around." However, the first officer did not add power for a go-around, and the captain did not take control of the airplane. Both pilots reported that, when the airplane was about 30 ft above ground level (agl), they felt a sensation that the airplane had "stopped flying" with a simultaneous left roll, which is indicative of an aerodynamic stall, followed by an immediate impact with terrain. After striking obstructions that completely separated the right main landing gear and the right flap, the airplane came to rest upright in the dirt on the side of the runway about 4,000 ft from the initial impact point. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. All eight occupants evacuated through the main cabin door. There was a substantial fuel spill but no postimpact fire. Both pilots reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane, and neither pilot reported an uncommanded loss of engine power. Data from the enhanced ground proximity warning system showed that seven warning events occurred in the last 3 minutes before the accident. The first warning was for "sink rate," and it occurred when the airplane was about 1,317 ft agl and in a 3,400-ft-per-minute descent. The last warning was for "bank angle," and it occurred about 10 seconds before touchdown as the airplane exceeded 42 degrees of bank when it was about 200 ft agl. The wind recorded at the airport at the time of the accident would have resulted in a 12-knot variable tailwind with gusts to 18 knots. The evidence is consistent with the first officer flying a non stabilized approach with a decreasing airspeed during low-level windshear conditions. The first officer did not properly compensate for the known low-level windshear conditions and allowed the airspeed to continue to decrease and the bank angle to increase until the airplane experienced an aerodynamic stall.
Probable cause:
The first officer's failure to maintain adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle-of-attack during the final approach in known low-level windshear conditions, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident were the first officer's failure to initiate a go-around when commanded and the captain's lack of remedial action when he recognized that the approach was unstabilized.
Final Report: