City

The DC-8 landed at Quito at 06:52 after a flight from Miami. Shortly after scheduled departure time of 09:00 members of the Ecuadorian Federation of Aircrews (FEDTA) requested and were granted permission to board the aircraft and discuss subjects relating to the aircrews' strike. The four Aeroservicios Ecuatorianos crew members didn't comply with the strike, after consulting AECA management. After a delay of about two hours, the n°4 engine was started. The crew then ordered the aircraft to be towed to the runway, perhaps in order to hasten the departure. The other engines were started during the towing operation. Pre-takeoff checks were not (or improperly) carried out. This caused the 0.5° horizontal stabilizer nose-up to go undetected, while 8° nose-up is required for takeoff. The DC-8 thus barely climbed after a ground run, extended to 48 meters beyond the runway end. The horizontal stabilizer struck the wooden structure of the ILS aerial, 83 meters past the runway 35 end. The aircraft then crashed into houses, 460 meters past the runway end and 35 meters to the right of the extended centreline. A total of 25 houses were demolished. All four crew members as well as 49 people on the ground were killed. At least 50 other people on the ground were injured, some of them seriously.

Prior to departure the pilot had received a weather forecast which indicated that fog could be expected at the destination. Adequate fuel was carried in the aircraft tanks to allow for a considerable period of holding and/or a diversion to another aerodrome if required. After an apparently normal flight of 35 minutes the aircraft arrived in the Goulburn area and the pilot reported his intention to carry out a standard instrument approach. The manoeuvres associated with this procedure do not involve flight over the city of Goulburn, however witnesses observed the aircraft as it circled over the city several times at a relatively low height. It was then seen to roll and descend steeply before striking two houses. A fierce fire broke out which engulfed the aircraft and both residences. The three persons on board the aircraft and a person in one of the houses received fatal injuries. A detailed inspection of the wreckage revealed that the camshaft of the left engine had failed in flight and the pilot had apparently feathered the propeller. The engine was not operating at the time of impact. No other defect or malfunction was discovered which might have contributed to the development of the accident. It was determined that the particular camshaft had failed from fatigue cracking, resulting from defective manufacture. It was considered likely that when the aircraft arrived over Goulburn, shallow fog obscured all or part of the aerodrome. The lights of the city would have been clearly visible and the pilot probably decided to use the city, rather than the nearby radio navigation aid, as a convenient holding point while waiting for conditions at the aerodrome to improve. During a series of left hand orbits, and after advising his intention to conduct an instrument approach, the pilot experienced a complete failure of the left engine. In order to realise the available single-engine performance of the aircraft the pilot had to perform a series of checks and actions which would result in the applicable propeller being feathered; any unnecessary aerodynamic drag being reduced; and an appropriate airspeed being established. It was determined that although the propeller had probably been feathered, the landing gear, which had evidently been lowered previously, had not been raised to reduce drag. In addition, an analysis of radar returns from the aircraft, recorded at Canberra, indicated that the airspeed at which the aircraft was flying shortly before radar contact was lost, was less than the optimum figure. The final manoeuvre described by witnesses was consistent with that which follows a loss of control in twin engine aircraft when power is being supplied by only one engine and the speed is below the minimum required for full control. The reason the pilot did not raise the landing gear and maintain the required minimum control speed could not be established.

The twin engine airplane was engaged in a charter flight from Campo de Marte to Porto Velho with an intermediate stop in São José do Rio Preto, carrying six passengers and a crew of two. After takeoff from runway 12, while in initial climb, the aircraft banked left, nosed down and crashed into several houses located in the district of Carandiru, bursting into flames. Both pilots, four passengers and one people in the ground were killed while four other passengers were seriously injured.

Shortly after takeoff from Medellín-Rionegro Airport, while in initial climb, the engine n°3 failed. The aircraft banked right, lost height, struck a powerline then crashed onto two factories located past the runway end. All three crew members as well as 22 people working in both factories were killed. The aircraft disintegrated on impact.

While approaching Biberach an der Riss Airport on a short flight from Stuttgart, the twin engine airplane collided with a French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) Mirage IIIR registered 342/33-CA. Both aircraft entered a dive and crashed onto several houses located between the villages of Assmannshardt and Birkenhardt, north of the airfield. Both occupants of the Partenavia, the pilot of the Mirage and four people on the ground were killed. A dozen other people on the ground were injured, some of them seriously.

After takeoff from Khartoum-Haj Yusuf Airport, while in initial climb, the right engine failed. The crew declared an emergency and was cleared to return for an emergency landing. While completing a turn, the airplane lost height and crashed in a district located about 4 km southeast of the airport. The aircraft and several buildings were destroyed. The flight engineer was seriously injured while eight other occupants and nine people on ground were killed. Eight other people on the ground were injured as well.

The airplane departed Girardot Airport bound for Mariquita on a training flight. After the crew completed nine touch-and-go at Mariquita Airport, the crew took off for a new local circuit. During initial climb, the pilot-in-command initiated a sharp turn to the left when the left wing tip struck the ground, causing the aircraft to crash near the airport. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all four crew members were killed as well as one people on the ground.

A PA-31, N100FD, was being vectored by DFW approach control (approach control) for a landing on runway 13L at Dallas-Love Field. The pilot's last received and acknowledged instructions were to descend and maintain 2,000 feet and turn left to 190°. Simultaneously, a Cessna 337, N72430, departed runway 15 at Addison Airport, under tower control, and was to make a right climbing turn of approx 180°. Two min after takeoff, the pilot asked and got approval for freq change. 24 seconds later, he contacted approach control stating he had just departed Addison and was climbing to 2,500 feet on a 300° heading. The controller misunderstood the pilot's departure point and instructed him to change to frequency 120.5. The two aircraft immediately collided. A 2,000 feet ceiling was reported, two witnesses stated they could see more blue sky than clouds. A witness approximately 8 miles away saw a fireball in the clouds. Investigation revealed the controller, vectoring N100FD, prematurely cleared the aircraft to an altitude which was below the ceiling of the Addison Airport traffic area and prior to reaching the airspace delegated for that purpose by an ATC letter of agreement.

The twin engine airplane was flying at a very low altitude when it struck the top of a house and crashed. All six occupants were killed.

The single engine airplane departed Triengen Aerodrome for a local skydiving flight, carrying eight skydivers and one pilot. At an altitude of 3,000 meters, after seven skydivers jumped out, the left ailerons detached. The pilot and the remaining passenger abandoned the aircraft that entered a dive and crashed onto a house located in the village of Triengen. The aircraft and the house were destroyed while there were no injuries and no casualties.