Region
Crash of a Boeing 707-373C in Singapore
Date & Time:
Apr 3, 1980
Operator:
Registration:
S2-ABQ
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Singapore - Dhaka
MSN:
19441/548
YOM:
1966
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
71
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
After takeoff from Singapore-Paya Lebar Airport, the crew retracted the landing gear and continued to climb. At a height of about 100 feet, the captain decided to abandon the takeoff and landed back on the runway. The airplane landed on its belly and slid for about 2,000 feet then veered to the right and came to rest. All 78 occupants were evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. It is believed that all four engines lost power during initial climb for unknown reasons. The exact cause of the accident remains undetermined. The Authorities of Singapore reported that the flight engineer committed suicide a day later, jumping out the window from his hotel.
Crash of a Convair CV-880-22M-3 in Singapore
Date & Time:
Aug 21, 1976 at 1730 LT
Registration:
N48060
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Singapore - Paya Lebar AFB
MSN:
22-00-47M
YOM:
1962
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a positioning flight to the Paya Lebar AFB in Singapore where 50 employees of an Oil Company should be picked up on a flight to the Middle East. During the takeoff roll, the captain decided to abandon the procedure and initiated an emergency braking manoeuvre. unable to stop within the remaining distance, the airplane overran and lost its nose gear before coming to rest 100 metres further. All nine occupants were evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the CofG was out of the envelope following an incorrect weight and balance computation.
Crash of a Convair CV-240-4 off Singapore
Date & Time:
Sep 17, 1975 at 1202 LT
Registration:
N8329C
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Singapore - Singapore
MSN:
110
YOM:
1948
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew departed Singapore-Seletar on a local test flight. En route, the left engine failed and its propeller was feathered. The crew was cleared to return to Seletar Airport when the right engine suffered power loss and dysfunctioned intermittently. The captain decided to ditch the aircraft into the Strait of Johore, about 400 meters short of runway 20. Both pilots were rescued and the aircraft sank by 8 meters of water.
Probable cause:
Engine failure for undetermined reason. It was reported that no maintenance has been conducted on the aircraft since its delivery last May 15.
Final Report:
Crash of a De Havilland DH.106 Comet 4 at Paya Lebar AFB
Date & Time:
Mar 22, 1964 at 1619 LT
Operator:
Registration:
G-APDH
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Bangkok – Kuala Lumpur – Singapore
MSN:
6409
YOM:
1958
Flight number:
ML511
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
60
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Aircraft flight cycles:
4500
Circumstances:
The flight from Kuala Lumpur was uneventful until the airplane approached Singapore. Visibility was good as the co-pilot started the approach to runway 02. The flare was initiated a little late and the airplane touched down firmly. The Comet bounced and floated a few feet over the runway. During the bounce the starboard wheel bogie and part of the landing gear leg dropped off. The crew tried to hold the wing off the ground after the aircraft settled back onto the runway. Finally the wing contacted the runway. The engines were shut down and left wheel brakes applied before the aircraft came to rest. At the time of the accident, the gears totalized 4,500 landings and was certified for 8,000.
Probable cause:
The landing gear leg, which had previously been weakened by fatigue, failed on first impact during the landing.
Crash of a Handley Page H.P.67 Hastings C.2 in Singapore: 13 killed
Date & Time:
May 29, 1961 at 1436 LT
Operator:
Registration:
WD497
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Singapore - Singapore
MSN:
125
YOM:
1951
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
8
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
13
Captain / Total hours on type:
422.00
Circumstances:
The crew was engaged in a local supply dropping training mission at Singapore-Seletar Airport. While cruising in the vicinity of the airfield at low height, the crew reported the failure of the engine n°2. The pilot-in-command lost control of the airplane that banked left, stalled and crashed in a field located few km from the airport. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact and all 13 occupants were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt A. Lyne, pilot,
F/Lt G. E. Hickman, copilot,
F/Lt P. G. Tarling, navigator,
Sgt J. A. Wells, flight engineer,
Sgt J. J. McConnell, signaller.
Passengers:
Cpl G. Barnard,
Cpl A. C. Howitt,
Cpl H. W. Smith,
Dvr A. D. G. Box,
Dvr A. C. King,
Dvr D. McG. Tennant,
Dvr F. E. Smith,
Dvr D. Wroe.
Crew:
F/Lt A. Lyne, pilot,
F/Lt G. E. Hickman, copilot,
F/Lt P. G. Tarling, navigator,
Sgt J. A. Wells, flight engineer,
Sgt J. J. McConnell, signaller.
Passengers:
Cpl G. Barnard,
Cpl A. C. Howitt,
Cpl H. W. Smith,
Dvr A. D. G. Box,
Dvr A. C. King,
Dvr D. McG. Tennant,
Dvr F. E. Smith,
Dvr D. Wroe.
Probable cause:
Loss of control following an engine failure in flight.
Crash of a Vickers 607 Valetta in Singapore
Date & Time:
May 12, 1958
Operator:
Registration:
WD170
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Singapore - Singapore
MSN:
499
YOM:
1951
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a local training sortie at Singapore-Changi Airport. While approaching the airfield with one engine voluntarily inoperative, the aircraft lost height. In a too low altitude, the crew did not have sufficient time to lower the landing gear so the captain attempted an emergency belly landing few km short of runway. The aircraft slid for several yards and came to rest, damaged beyond repair. Both crew members were unhurt.
Crash of a Lockheed L-749A-79-33 Constellation in Singapore: 33 killed
Date & Time:
Mar 13, 1954 at 1434 LT
Operator:
Registration:
G-ALAM
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Sydney – Darwin – Jakarta – Singapore – Karachi – Beirut – Rome – London
MSN:
2554
YOM:
1947
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
31
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
33
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Jakarta, the crew started the descent to Singapore-Kallang in good weather conditions. On final approach to runway 06, the four engine aircraft christened 'Belfast' was too low and hit a sea wall, bounced and landed 80 yards past the runway threshold. On touchdown, the right main gear collapsed, the airplane veered off runway to the right, lost its right wing and came to rest in flames upside down. Seven crew members were injured while 33 other occupants, including all 31 passengers, were killed.
Probable cause:
The cause of the accident, i. e. the touchdown off the runway was attributed to the approach of the aircraft. While certain eye-witnesses describe the approach as normal, it was not normal relative to maintaining a steady glide path and rate of descent. The various rates of descent could be considered to be within normal bounds for a Constellation aircraft, but their general pattern was neither normal nor, having regard to the sea wall hazard, desirable. The extent to which the captain's original decision to land short on such a runway as 06 was an error can only be judged in relation to the wide range of expert pilot opinion as to what is a safe first point of touchdown. The fact that his first point of touchdown came back closer to the threshold markings than he originally intended can probably be attributed to a degree of tiredness of which he may or may not have been aware.
Final Report:
