Tag Archives: Crash

Promech Air de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter slams into a cliff, 9 killed in Alaska

Promech Air (Ketchikan) de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter with a pilot and eight passengers from a Holland America Line cruise ship died in a crash yesterday (June 25) near Ketchikan, Alaska. The Otter slammed into a cliff while on a sightseeing flight on Misty Fjords National Monument.

Read the full report from Fox 13: CLICK HERE

The company described its operations:

Promech Air is the largest air taxi in southern Southeast Alaska. Promech Air’s “can do” philosophy – along with our fleet, facilities, and personnel – make us the preferred carrier in the Ketchikan area. We have been transporting people and freight throughout Southeast Alaska for 30 years, giving us the experience to serve your transportation needs in a timely, safe, and affordable manner.

Promech Air flies to many locations throughout Southeast Alaska providing charter service to individuals and businesses, transporting everything from hunters and their gear to flowers and groceries. Promech Air;s flight seeing tours to Misty Fjords National Monument and Neets Bay Salmon Hatchery for bear viewing are some of the best tours offered in Alaska.

Promech Air currently operates four de Havilland Beavers and five de Havilland single-turbine Otters. These floatplanes are extraordinarily reliable and ideally suited for flying in Southeast Alaska. Standardization of our fleet, such as all aircraft being equipped with EDO floats, offers the advantage of simplified maintenance support. This allows us to operate with very few cancellations or flight delays due to maintenance.

All images by Promech Air.

Video:

Video: The crash of First Air flight 6560 near Resolute Bay on August 20, 2011

New video from Air Crash Investigation and the National Geographic Channel. The crash of First Air flight 6560 near Resolute Bay on August 20, 2011.

TransAsia Airways death toll rises to 40, crew may have shut off the working engine

TransAsia Airways (Taipei) doomed flight number GE 235 death toll has risen to 40 today including the two pilots. Three people remain unaccounted for and 15 people survived the accident according to CNN.

Read the full report from CNN: CLICK HERE

Investigators have been reviewing the data from the flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) for clues of why the ATR 72-212A (ATR 72-600) crashed on takeoff from Taipei (Sungshan) on February 6 with 53 passengers and five crew members on board.

The Aviation Safety Council of Taiwan is collecting data and has suggested the pilots may have turned off the working engine prior to the crash. They were able to restart one engine but it was already too late. The ATR 72 hit a taxi and clipped the bridge and subsequently crashed upside in the river as previously reported.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Manuel Negrerie/AirlinersGallery.com. Rescuers are pictured looking for and removing survivors from inverted ATR 72-212A (ATR 72-600) B-22816 (msn 1141).

TransAsia aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-3/Airlines-Asia3-QZ/TransAsia-Airways

Another crash for TransAsia Airways, flight GE 235 clips a Taipei bridge and ends up in the river, 16 people dead

TransAsia Airways (Taipei) today (February 4) has suffered another crash. Brand new ATR 72-212A (ATR 72-600) B-22216 (msn 1141) with 53 passengers and five crew members operating as flight GE 235 reportedly lost power this morning on takeoff on runway 10 at 1052 am (local time). The airliner was unable to maintain its climb and hit a vehicle and clipped a bridge with its left wing and crashed into the Keelung River, killing at least 16 people. The crew report a Mayday on the takeoff and an engine flame out. The ATR 72 had just departed from the old Songshan Airport (TSA) (Taipei International Airport) in downtown Taipei. The airport was built in 1936.

According to the airline, 22 people have safely reached the shore. 16 are confirmed dead. All others were rushed to area hospitals.

Google Map below: A: Location of bridge that was clipped and B: Final location of the aircraft in the river.

Read the full story from the BBC: CLICK HERE

Top and Below Copyright Photos: Manuel Negrerie/AirlinersGallery.com. ATR 72-212A (ATR 72-600) B-22816 (msn 1141) was delivered new on April 15, 2014. It is pictured preparing to takeoff at Songshan Airport previously. Below, rescuers attempt to find everyone on board in the river.

Below Copyright Photo: Manuel Negrerie/AirlinersGallery.com. The ATR 72 unfortunately hit this yellow taxi on the bridge before careening into the river. The driver was able to get out of the vehicle with only minor injuries.

Video: Dramatic dash cam video of the crash:

TransAsia aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-3/Airlines-Asia3-QZ/TransAsia-Airways

SkyWay Enterprises Shorts SD3-60 N380MQ crashes into the Caribbean Sea near St. Maarten with two pilots on board

SkyWay Enterprises Inc. (Kissimmee, FL) Shorts SD3-60 N380MQ (msn SH3702) with two crew members was operating flight SKZ 7101 from St. Maarten to San Juan on October 29 on behalf of FedEx Express per Aviation Herald. The aircraft, while departing the airport, crashed into the Caribbean Sea approximately two nautical miles west of the airport. One body was recovered and the other is missing.

Read the full report from The Daily Herald: CLICK HERE

Skyway Enterprises Inc. operates Shorts 330s, Shorts 360s and Learjets from as far west as Portland Oregon (PDX) to as far east San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU) in both scheduled and “On Demand” service. Skyway Enterprises Inc. has F.A.A. authority to operate throughout the United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Skyway Enterprises Inc. has an aircraft to suit your every need and desire for the rapid movement of your cargo.

The history of SkyWay Enterprises (from its website):

SkyWay Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1981 as a Cessna Aircraft dealer to support it’s FAA approved flight school. In December 1983, SkyWay became a certified FAA air carrier and purchased its first learjet. SkyWay then began providing on-demand charter service for the air transportation of freight.

By 1984, SkyWay added a second Learjet to meet the increasing demand for air transportation of freight and expanded its services to accommodate passengers. In 1985, as demand for SkyWay’s services continued to increase, SkyWay purchased two more Learjets bring the fleet to a total of four aircraft.

In 1987, as SkyWay continued to diversify, it entered into the Air Ambulance service and continued to increase its executive passenger and freight services. SkyWay was also awarded a contract by the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan for scheduled service from Michigan to Florida. During this time, two additional Turboprop aircraft where added bringing the fleet to six aircraft.

During 1989, while the automotive market was struggling, SkyWay looked for an area that was less prone to the cyclic changes of the Detroit area and relocated to Kissimmee Florida. This offered more independence and provided more business opportunities in the Southern U.S. and Caribbean.

Once in Florida, Kissimmee Aviation Services Inc. began as a sister company of SkyWay providing a Fixed Base Operation service to the Kissimmee Municipal Airport. Also at the time, charter services to the Bahamas and other Caribbean islands started increasing in demand.

In 1994, SkyWay started a more central satellite base in Louisville, KY (KJVY) providing supplemental service to UPS and other freight services such as Kitty Hawk AirCargo, Active Aero, Grand Aire and many others. SkyWay also added two Shorts 330s to it’s fleet allowing for the capacity of a DC-3 with the reliability of a Turboprop aircraft.

In February of 1998, SkyWay purchased two Shorts 360 aircraft formally operated by American Eagle. Two days after this purchase, the two Shorts 330s operated by SkyWay were destroyed by a tornado at the Miami International Airport. After this happened, SkyWay personnel began an intensive program to convert the newly purchased 360s from passenger to cargo configuration. With a concerted effort on everyone’s part, the FAA required STC was approved within 90days of purchase. SkyWay once again would rely on a Shorts to satisfy the needs of its customers in transferring heavy cargo by air. Later that year, SkyWay went on to purchase two additional Shorts 330’s replacing the two that where recently destroyed in Miami. SkyWay also won the purchase of a Military version of the Shorts 330, a C-23 Sherpa from the U.S. Airforce. What makes the C-23 unique is its capability to open in the rear and take “oversized” cargo loads.

With the rapid expansion of the company now moving forward, SkyWay was being awarded contract runs throughout the U.S. and Caribbean. These contracts allowed SkyWay to expand its fleet even further with a purchase of 11 more Shorts 360 aircraft from American Airlines. These aircraft, at the time, where stored in the desert and the project of resurrecting and safely transferring them to Florida was accomplished within 45 days.

SkyWay is constantly striving to provide continued reliable service to the air cargo industry and currently provides contracted services to such companies as: UPS, Airborne Express, DHL, Avon Cosmetics, FedEx and many other cargo forwarders. SkyWay continues to pursue new routes and new customers, exploring new avenues and striving to provide superior service to ensure growth within the air cargo industry.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Sister ship Shorts SD3-60 N385MQ (msn SH3707), formerly operated by Simmons Airlines (American Eagle) rests between flights at Miami International Airport.

The NTSB blames the crew for the crash of UPS flight 1354 at Birmingham, Alabama

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that UPS flight 1354 crashed because the crew continued an unstabilized approach into Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Alabama. In addition, the crew failed to monitor the altitude and inadvertently descended below the minimum descent altitude when the runway was not yet in sight.

The board also found that the flight crew’s failure to properly configure the on-board flight management computer, the first officer’s failure to make required call-outs, the captain’s decision to change the approach strategy without communicating his change to the first officer, and flight crew fatigue all contributed to the accident.

The airplane, an Airbus A300-600, crashed in a field short of runway 18 in Birmingham on August 14, 2013, at 4:47 a.m. The captain and first officer, the only people aboard, both lost their lives, and the airplane was destroyed by the impact and a post-crash fire. The flight originated from UPS’s hub in Louisville, Kentucky.

“An unstabilized approach is a less safe approach,” said NTSB Acting Chairman Christopher A. Hart. “When an approach is unstable, there is no shame in playing it safe by going around and trying again.”

The NTSB determined that because the first officer did not properly program the flight management computer, the autopilot was not able to capture and fly the desired flight path onto runway 18. When the flight path was not captured, the captain, without informing the first officer, changed the autopilot mode and descended at a rate that violated UPS’s stabilized approach criteria once the airplane descended below 1,000 feet above the airport elevation.

As a result of this accident investigation, the NTSB made recommendations to the FAA, UPS, the Independent Pilots Association and Airbus. The recommendations address safety issues identified in the investigation, including ensuring that operations and training materials include clear language requiring abandoning an unstable approach; the need for recurrent dispatcher training that includes both dispatchers and flight crews; the need for all relevant weather information to be provided to pilots in dispatch and enroute reports; opportunities for improvement in fatigue awareness and management among pilots and operators; the need for increased awareness among pilots and operators of the limitations of terrain awareness and warning systems — and for procedures to assure safety given these limitations.

A synopsis of the NTSB report is available at: http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/2013/birmingham_al/birmingham_al.html

Top Copyright Photo: NTSB.

UPS Aircraft Slide Show:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Ken Petersen/AirlinersGallery.com. N155UP is pictured on the cargo ramp at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport before the tragic accident. Airbus A300F4-622R N155UP (msn 841) crashed on August 14, 2013 while on approach from the north to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, Birmingham, Alabama. The crew was operating cargo flight 5X 1354 from the Louisville hub to Birmingham. The two crew members were tragically killed in the crash.

Ukraine Air Alliance Antonov An-12 crashes in Algeria, 7 killed

Ukraine Air Alliance (Kiev) Antonov An-12BK registered as UR-DWF (msn 8345802) (above) operating a cargo flight from Prestwick, Scotland to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea crashed on takeoff from Tamanrasset, Algeria yesterday (August 30) after making a fuel stop. All 7 crew members on board were reported to have died in the crash.

According to Wikipedia the airline was established on February 18, 1992 and started operations in 1993.

Read the full report from CNN: CLICK HERE

Air Algerie/Swiftair flight crashes in Mali, wreckage found, there are no survivors

Swiftair (Madrid) McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83 (MD-83) registered EC-LTV (msn 53190) operating for Air Algerie (Algiers) as flight AH 5017 from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso to Algiers with 110 passengers and 6 crew members is missing. Contact with the airliner has been lost over Mali near Gao about 50 minutes after the takeoff. Both airlines have announced they have lost contact with the crew.

According to Reuters, the country of Burkino Faso stated the flight had asked ATC to alter its course due to a storm. There was a known sandstorm in the area according to local reports.

Swiftair said on its website the flight took off from Burkina Faso at 0117 GMT and was supposed to land in Algiers at 0510 GMT but never reached its destination.

Two French Air Force Mirage 2000 jets based in west Africa have been dispatched to try to locate the missing airliner according to Reuters.

Reuters is now reporting the plane has crashed:

“An Air Algerie flight crashed on Thursday en route from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso to Algiers with 110 passengers on board, an Algerian aviation official said.”

Update: The wreckage has been found near the city of Gao, Mali (see the map below). There are no survivors of the 116 passengers and crew members on board.

Read the full report from The Telegraph: CLICK HERE

Update: From CNN:

“France has declared a three-day mourning period to commemorate the victims of the Air Algerie flight 5017 crash, French President Francois Hollande declared on Saturday (July 26).

Following a meeting with families of the victims, Hollande said flags will fly at half-staff on government buildings from Monday through Wednesday.

Fifty-four of the 118 victims were French nationals.

The second flight data recorder from has been found in Mali, a U.N. official said Saturday (July 26).”

Top Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Sister ship McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83 (MD-83) M814NK became EC-KCX on delivery (msn 49619).

Bottom Copyright Photo: Javier Rodriguez/AirlinersGallery.com. The ill-fated DC-9-83 (MD-83) EC-LTV at Palma de Mallorca before the tragic crash.

Swiftair:

Air Algerie:

Google Maps:

TransAsia Airways flight 222 crashes in typhoon-ravaged Penghu Islands, 48 killed

TransAsia Airways (Taipei) 70-seat ATR 72-212A (ATR 72-600) B-22817 (msn 1145) operating as flight 222 crashed into residential buildings while attempting to make a landing at Magong Airport today (July 23) in the Penghu Islands with 54 passengers and four crew members on board. The brand new turboprop (delivered on May 14, 2014) had aborted its first attempt to land and was making a go around for its second attempt to land when it crashed into the village of Xixi in Penghu’s Huxi Township and burned. The aircraft was attempting to land when the last feeder band of departing Typhoon Matmo was hitting the islands. 48 people died (10 survived with injuries) in the crash according to the Civil Aeronautics Administration. The Penghu Islands are west of Taiwan in the Taiwan Straits.

Typhoon Matmo slammed into Taiwan yesterday (July 22) with heavy rains and strong winds and was departing the islands as the flight attempted to land.

TransAsia Airways flight 222 departed Kaohsiung International Airport bound for Magong Airport. The airliner was circling the island waiting for the weather to improve for landing when it lost contact with the tower as the feeder band of the storm lashed the island. The flight had been delayed at Kaohsiung waiting for the storm to pass the offshore islands.

Read the full report from the BBC (with photos): CLICK HERE

TransAsia pledges to take care of the families and officials defended the decision to fly into the departing storm. Read the update from Channel News Asia: CLICK HERE

TransAsia Airways: