Britten-Norman Islander

Flight 901A departed the ramp in Vieques about 0755 with eight passengers aboard, all of whom had reserved seats and purchased tickets for Flight 901. The pilot of Flight 901A contacted the UNICOM as he taxied out to the takeoff end of runway 09. The UNICOM operator informed hym that there was no other traffic in the area. According to a mechanic at the airport, after takeoff, the airplane appeared to climb out normally; however, he said that as the airplane turned left in a crosswind departure pattern, it appeared to lose power when about 200 feet above the ocean. He stated that the airplane then gained about 50 feet, while in a nose-high attitude, and that he then heard the engines develop more power, before the plane descended into the ocean. The airplane had crashed into the ocean north of the departure end of runway 09 and about 1/2 mile off shore. The aircraft was destroyed and all nine occupants were killed.

After landing at El Embrujo Island, the twin engine airplane collided with a horse and came to rest. There were no casualties.

The crew was completing a local training flight at Ajaccio-Campo dell’Oro Airport, simulating engine failure. In unclear circumstances, the pilot lost control of the aircraft that crashed near the airport. Both occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Loganair flight LC 621 was scheduled to fly from Kirkwall, on Orkney Island, to the Islands of Stronsay and Sanday, departing from Kirkwall at 07:30. The weather at Kirkwall was predominantly misty with low cloud and thus unsuitable for an on-schedule departure; accordingly, the commander decided to delay the flight pending an improvement. Because there are no formal weather reporting facilities at Stronsay or Sanday, crews must rely upon the area forecast and on any informal information passed by the respective aerodrome attendants. At about 07:25 hrs, the two airfield attendants telephoned, in turn, to say that the weather at Sanday was suitable for landing and that at Stronsay the visibility was then about 1½ miles. At 07:50 the commander decided that the weather conditions at Kirkwall were now better than the published takeoff minima and that the flight could be conducted under the Visual Flight Rules (VFR). Accordingly, the BN-2 Islander took off for Stronsay with six passengers on board. The flight was uneventful and the aircraft landed at Stronsay at 07:58. There two passengers disembarked and three joined for the 6 mile flight to Sanday, which departed at 08:03. As they passed the south-west tip of Sanday Island, the visibility was 2 miles with very low patchy stratus and with a higher layer of cloud. The pilot therefore flew the route below the upper layer of cloud, at 300 feet amsl and at a reduced airspeed of 90 knots, compared with the normal cruising speed of 130 knots. When the aircraft was about 3/4 mile out from Sanday airfield the commander recognised the chequered marker boards near the end of the grass runway 03. He next saw the windsock, which showed the wind to be about 140°/15-20 knots, and slowly descended to 250 feet amsl (190 feet above the aerodrome) to position the aircraft downwind for runway 11. Whilst doing so, he lost sight of the airfield in deteriorating visibility and, as the cloudbase ahead appeared to be getting lower, he climbed away in a northwesterly direction and levelled off above the layer of cloud, at 600 feet amsl. Whilst establishing the aircraft on the track to Kirkwall, the commander noticed some areas clear of cloud about 3 miles off the northwest coast of Sanday. As, in the opinion of the commander, these provided a safe area for descent over the sea, he used them to descend to 300 feet again and approached the northwest coast at 90 knots with the intention of map-reading his way back to Sanday aerodrome. Having carried out the descent and the relevant aircraft checks the commander saw the headland, which he knew to be Whale Point, some 2-3 miles distant. By reference to his map he was aware that he could follow the road which ran in a southwesterly direction and then turn southeast to a specific point which would lead him directly onto the final approach to runway 11. However, having failed to recognise the turning point, he navigated by reference to his map around the south, east and north of the aerodrome in order to intercept the road running southwest and thus relocate the turn-in point to the runway. The commander stated that he was aware that the meteorological conditions were very conducive to the formation of carburettor icing, so he applied the normal period of carburettor heat to each engine just before the final approach. He then turned the aircraft onto the final approach and, not yet seeing the airfield, used the school - which he could see and knew to be almost directly beneath the final approach path - to align the aircraft with the runway. As the aircraft passed abeam of the school the commander was able to identify the runway markers of runway 11. By this time the aircraft speed had reduced from the 65 knots at which the approach had been flown, but the speed actually achieved is not known. The left wing of the aircraft then dropped and the aircraft established a rate of sink. The stall warning system activated and the application of full throttle could not arrest the descent before ground contact. During this final descent, the aircraft turned through 55° to the left and struck the ground in a manner quoted by some passengers as not very different from a normal landing, although at a point some 450 feet (137 metres) short of the runway threshold. Thinking that the aircraft had merely bounced on the ground, the commander left the power applied and attempted to climb away. With full throttle still applied, the aircraft continued through two barbed wire fences, across a small quarry and a shallow ditch. It finally came to rest, after passing through another barbed wire fence, some 1,065 feet (325 metres) from the initial impact point. The commander then closed the throttles and shut down the engines.

Suffered an accident somewhere in Angola. Occupant fate unknown.

While descending to Karimui Airfield on a flight from Kundiawa, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions. In low clouds, he started the descent prematurely when the twin engine airplane struck the slope of a mountain located few km from Karimui. All 10 occupants were killed.

For unknown reasons, the twin engine airplane landed hard and was damaged beyond repair. All 12 occupants escaped uninjured.

While approaching Lanyu Island (Orchids Island) in poor weather conditions, the twin engine airplane went out of control and crashed into the sea few km offshore. All 10 occupants were killed.

The twin engine airplane was returning to Smithers, carrying one pilot and six German citizens taking part to a hunting camp. While descending to Smithers, the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in an isolated area. SAR operations were initiated but eventually abandoned after four weeks as no trace of the aircraft nor the seven occupants was found.

While descending to Bula Airport on a cargo flight from Ambon, the twin engine airplane went out of control and crashed into the sea. Both occupants were killed.