Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

The crew was engaged in a post maintenance test flight. En route, the copilot informed ATC about technical problems when control was lost. The aircraft entered a dive and crashed in the sea off Hamamatsu. All four crew members were killed.

At 1018 hours EST, on Sunday 2 October 1994, the pilot submitted a flight plan by telephone to the Melbourne Regional Briefing Office of the Civil Aviation Authority. The flight plan indicated that Aero Commander 690 aircraft VH-SVQ would be conducting a regular public transport service, flight CD 111, from Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport to Lord Howe Island with an intermediate landing at Williamtown. The flight was planned to operate in accordance with instrument flight rules with a nominated departure time from Sydney of 1100 hours. The aircraft was crewed by one pilot. The aircraft departed Sydney at 1117, carrying baggage that had been off-loaded from another company service which was to operate direct from Sydney to Lord Howe Island that day. The flight to Williamtown apparently proceeded normally and the aircraft arrived at about 1140. The company had no ground-based representatives at Williamtown but the pilot was observed by other persons in the terminal building to converse with passengers before proceeding to the aircraft. No other person saw the pilot and the passengers board the aircraft. At 1206 the pilot informed Sydney Flight Service that the aircraft was taxiing at Williamtown for Lord Howe Island and that he intended climbing to flight level (FL) 210. Departure was subsequently reported as 1208 when the pilot reported tracking 060 on climb to FL230 which was the original planned cruising level. The pilot reported passing 20,000 feet on climb to FL210 at 1229 and shortly afterwards asked if VH-IBF, a company aircraft flown by the chief pilot and operating from Sydney direct to Lord Howe Island, had departed. The pilot was advised that it had departed. The radar trace showed that the climb was discontinued at 20,400 ft at 1231:22. Three seconds later the aircraft commenced descent. The last recorded radar trace for SVQ was at 19,800 ft at 1232:54. The pilot of SVQ did not report at the position ‘Shark’ at 1232 as scheduled in his flight plan, and at 1235 he notified that the aircraft had commenced a descent to FL130. At 1238, the pilot of SVQ asked Sydney Flight Service if IBF was listening on high frequency and was advised that the aircraft was not due on frequency for another 30 minutes. He requested that the pilot of IBF call him on the company VHF frequency and reported that the aircraft had just passed ‘Shark’ and he would shortly provide an estimate for the next position, ‘Shrimp’. At 1245, he provided an estimate for ‘Shrimp’ of 1310 and stated that the aircraft was maintaining FL160. No explanation of the amended level was given by the pilot or sought by Sydney Flight Service. The chief pilot subsequently stated that he contacted SVQ on company frequency at about 1240 and that the pilot of that aircraft reported a severe vibration which he thought was caused by airframe or propeller icing. He also confirmed that he had turned the propeller heat on. The chief pilot recalled that he asked the pilot of SVQ if the cockpit indication showed that the propeller heat was working normally, to which he replied ‘yes its working’. During this period, the chief pilot and the pilot of SVQ had also discussed crew rostering. Prior to contact with the chief pilot, the pilot of SVQ contacted the pilot of VH-SVV, another company aircraft which was operating a flight from Coffs Harbour to Lord Howe Island. At 1316, after SVQ had not reported at the ‘Shrimp’ position, Sydney Flight Service commenced communications checks but was unable to establish communications with SVQ directly or through any other aircraft. At 1325 an uncertainty phase was declared and the Melbourne Rescue Coordination Centre was subsequently notified at 1331. At 1401 the duty officer at the Melbourne Rescue Coordination Centre contacted the Lord Howe Island aerodrome terminal and left a message for the pilot of IBF to telephone the Centre. After the arrival of IBF at Lord Howe Island, the company managing director, who was also on board the aircraft, called the Melbourne Search and Rescue Centre at 1410 to inquire about SVQ. Arrangements were made by the company and Civil Aviation Authority search and rescue to organise search aircraft and a distress phase was declared at 1411. Subsequently, the crews of IBF and SVV reported hearing a radio transmission from the pilot of SVQ, stating that he had ‘lost it’. Attempts at the time by the chief pilot to contact SVQ were unsuccessful.

The crew was repatriating the aircraft from Kinshasa, Zaire, to the US. On the leg from Biggin Hill to Reykjavik, while approaching the Icelandic coast, the left engine failed. The crew declared an emergency and was cleared to divert to Vestmannaeyjar Airport. While circling for landing, the right engine failed as well. The crew lost control of the airplane that crashed in the sea few km offshore. Both occupants were killed.

Following a normal takeoff roll, the pilot-in-command started the rotation. During initial climb, at a height of about 100 feet and at a speed of 122 knots, the engine n°4 went into Beta range and lost power. The crew elected to regain control but the aircraft rolled to the right, causing the right wing to struck the grassy area along runway 13. Out of control, the aircraft plunged in the Kowloon Bay and came to rest 500 metres offshore. Six occupants were rescued while six others were killed.

The captain, first officer, and two passengers departed from the Fish Egg Inlet logging camp, located 56 nautical miles (nm) north of Port Hardy, British Columbia, for a 16 nm visual flight rules (VFR) flight to Pruth Bay. This was the second leg of a flight which had originated at Port Hardy. The first officer, who occupied the left pilot seat and was handling the controls, taxied the aircraft a short distance away from the dock and took off. The captain occupied the right pilot seat. As the aircraft climbed through 100 feet, and just as the flaps were retracting, the aircraft pitched up violently and stalled. The pilots were unable to regain control of the aircraft, and it crashed into the water about 100 feet from the shore and sank immediately. The captain, who sustained serious injuries from the crash, escaped from the wreckage and swam to shore. The first officer and the two passengers remained in the aircraft and drowned. When the aircraft failed to arrive at Pruth Bay, personnel from Pacific Coastal Airlines (the company) notified the Rescue Coordination Centre and started their own search. A search pilot spotted debris in the water near the logging camp at about 1430 Pacific daylight saving time (PDT) that day. He landed to investigate, found the captain on the shore nearby, and transported him to the Port Hardy hospital. The accident occurred during daylight hours at approximately 1148 PDT, at latitude 51°36'N and longitude 127°41'W. There were no witnesses, other than the aircraft captain, to this accident.

The aircraft was engaged in a military exercise jointly with the Taiwan Navy, carrying four crew members. While cruising over the Taiwan Strait and towing a target, the aircraft was mistakenly shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired from a Taiwan Navy frigate. The aircraft exploded and its debris were found off Taitung. All four crew members were killed.

The pilot, sole on board, was engaged in a fire fighting mission in the region of Quesnel. While cruising at an altitude of 6,500 feet, the pilot realized that the oil pressure on the left engine dropped while oil was leaking. He decided to shut down the left engine but mistakenly activated the fire extinguishing system on the right engine, causing the right engine to stop as well. In such conditions, he reduced his altitude and attempted to ditch the aircraft in the Fraser River near Quesnel. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and the pilot was slightly injured.

While in cruise flight in a level six thunderstorm over the Atlantic Ocean, the pilot reported the airplane's 'gyro' had failed. The airplane then began a left turn and disappeared off radar. The airplane and its occupants were located on the ocean floor about 48 days after the accident. The airplane had broken apart in-flight. The outboard section of each wing and the tail section were not recovered. The airplane's pneumatic system was destroyed. According to fss records, the pilot had been briefed on the weather along his route of flight.

Five aircraft departed a lodge, one behind the other. Fog and drizzle were encountered, and the pilot of the first aircraft radioed to the pilots of the other aircraft to cross the river to the east shoreline. A passenger in the fourth aircraft (N13GA) stated that when the aircraft was over the middle of the river, she could not see either shore due to fog. The pilot of N13GA (a floatplane) stated that he encountered deteriorating weather and started a descent, intending to make a precautionary landing. He began to level, expecting conditions to improve. Subsequently, the floatplane hit the surface of 'glassy water' and crashed. Seven passengers were killed and four other occupants were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

The amphibious DHC-2 Beaver was being operated from the Harbour Air base at Sandspit, British Columbia, located on the Queen Charlotte Islands. On the first flight on the day of the accident, the aircraft carried baggage from the Sandspit Airport to a floating fishing resort at anchor in Givenchy Bay. This bay is located in the Kano Inlet on the west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands, 28 nautical miles (nm) west of Sandspit. On board the aircraft with the pilot was a passenger who would remain with the flight for the return trip to Sandspit. The aircraft departed Sandspit under visual flight rules (VFR) at 1015 Pacific daylight time (PDT) and landed at the fishing resort at 1039. The pilot had taken the most direct route to the destination through a low pass and over Yakoun Lake. He advised the company dispatch on the company radio frequency that the weather was quite poor along that route and that he planned to take the Skidegate Channel for the return trip. On arrival at the Givenchy resort, the aircraft was loaded with the fish to be transported to Sandspit; it then departed Givenchy at 1051. When the aircraft did not arrive at Sandspit, a search was organized. The wreckage was located at 1245 at Hunter Point, about 7 nm from Givenchy, at latitude 53°15'N, longitude 132°42'W. The accident had occurred during the hours of daylight at approximately 1100. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot and passenger were fatally injured upon impact.