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Crash of a Fokker 50 in Luxembourg: 20 killed

Date & Time: Nov 6, 2002 at 1006 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
LX-LGB
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Berlin – Luxembourg
MSN:
20221
YOM:
1991
Flight number:
LG9642
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
19
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
20
Captain / Total flying hours:
4242
Captain / Total hours on type:
2864.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
1156
Copilot / Total hours on type:
443
Aircraft flight hours:
21836
Aircraft flight cycles:
24068
Circumstances:
The Fokker 27 Mk050 registered LX-LGB and operated by Luxair left Berlin on 6 November 2002 at 07h 40min on flight LG 9642/LH 2420 with destination Luxembourg. Cruising level was at FL180. At 08h 50min, Frankfurt Control asked the crew to stop descent at FL 90, direct to Diekirch and at 08h 52min the flight was transferred to Luxembourg Approach. They were instructed to enter the Diekirch hold at FL90, to expect later on vectors for an ILS 24 and were given the latest RVR readings. At 08h 59min, well before reaching the Diekirch hold, the aircraft was recleared to 3000ft QNH and to turn left heading one three zero. At this time the aircraft flew in the clear sky above a fog layer. RVR was two hundred seventy five meters. The crew evoked a go-around if the RVR was not three hundred meters whilst passing ELU (it’s minima for a category II approach). At 09h04 min 36s, the aircraft passed overhead ELU maintaining 3000ft QNH. At 09h04 min 57s, the ATC controller transmitted an RVR of three hundred meters. Power was further reduced, flaps 10 were selected and the landing gear was lowered. Immediately after the landing gear was lowered, the pitch angle of the two propellers simultaneously reached a value that is lower than the minimum values for flight. This propeller pitch setting involves a rapid decrease of speed and altitude. During the following seconds, the left engine stopped and then the right engine stopped. The flight data recorders, no longer powered ceased functioning. At 09h05 min 42s (radar time base), the aircraft disappeared from the radar screen. It was immediately found in a field seven hundred meters to the north of runway centreline 24 and three point five kilometres to the east of the threshold. Six people were critically injured while 16 others were killed. Within the following hours, four of the survivors died from their injuries. The only two survivors were a passenger, a French citizen, and the captain.
Probable cause:
The initial cause of the accident is the crew’s acceptance of the approach clearance although they were not prepared to it, namely the absence of preparation of a go-around. It led the crew to perform a series of improvised actions that ended in the prohibited override of the primary stop on the power levers and leading to an irreversible loss of control.
Contributory factors can be listed as follows:
1. A lack of preparation for the landing, initiated by unnecessary occupations resulting from an obtained RVR value, which was below their company approved minima, created a disorganisation in the cockpit, leading to uncoordinated actions by each crewmember.
2. Some procedures as laid down in the operations manual were not followed at some stage of the approach. All this did not directly cause the accident, but created an environment whereby individual actions were initiated to make a landing possible.
3. Routine and the will to arrive at destination may have put the crew in a psychological state of mind, which could have been the origin of the deviations from standard procedures as noticed.
4. The priority in the approach sequence given to the crew by ATC, which facilitated the traffic handling for the controller who was not aware of the operational consequences.
5. The low reliability of the installed secondary stop safety device that was favoured by the non-application of service bulletin ABSC SB Fo50-32-4. Also the mode of distribution of the safety information (Fokker Aircraft B.V. – Service letter 137) to the operator as well as the operator’s internal distribution to the crews, that did not guarantee that the crews were aware of the potential loss of secondary stop on propeller pitch control.
6. Latent shortcomings in the Authority and the organisational structure of the operator, in combination with poor application of SOPs by the crew.
Final Report:

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R near Bayan

Date & Time: Sep 21, 1991
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
HA-MEV
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Berlin - Sydney
MSN:
1G194-29
YOM:
1981
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
5
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The single engine aircraft departed Berlin on July 26, taking part to an international Rally to Sydney, Australia. Already 40 en route stops were completed and few minutes after his departure from Bima Airstrip, the crew encountered engine problems and elected to make an emergency landing when the aircraft crash landed near Bayan, Lombok. All seven occupants escaped with minor injuries and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
The engine caught fire in flight for unknown reasons. Brand new, the engine was changed prior to departure from Berlin.

Crash of a Vickers 736 Viscount in Frankfurt

Date & Time: Oct 30, 1961 at 1848 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-AODH
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Berlin – Frankfurt
MSN:
78
YOM:
1955
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
12
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
12303
Captain / Total hours on type:
2378.00
Circumstances:
The aircraft was on a scheduled service (charter flight) from Berlin to Frankfurt-Main. Aboard were a pilot-in-command, a copilot, 2 stewardesses, 11 passengers and one child. The flight proceeded normally until the final approach at its destination. During a missed ILS approach in poor visibility the aircraft struck the ground alongside runway 25 and was badly damaged while rolling to a stop. Two of the sixteen occupants were injured. The accident occurred at 1848LT.
Probable cause:
The pilot-in-command, during the ILS approach, flew below the critical height and, in a surface visibility which was inadequate, struck the ground alongside the runway. It is probable that a contributing factor was that at the critical moment the assistance given by the copilot to the pilot-in-command was erroneous and misleading.
Final Report:

Crash of a Douglas DC-3 near Berlin: 2 killed

Date & Time: Nov 30, 1954 at 1115 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N17891
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Boston – Concord – Laconia – Berlin
MSN:
11745
YOM:
1943
Flight number:
NE792
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Captain / Total flying hours:
7900
Captain / Total hours on type:
5500.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
4300
Copilot / Total hours on type:
831
Aircraft flight hours:
26000
Circumstances:
Flight 792 originated at Boston, Massachusetts, for Berlin, New Hampshire, with stops at concord and Laconia, New Hampshire. The drew consisted of Captain W. P. Carey, First Officer George D. McCormick, Stewardess Mary McEttrick, and Flight Superintendent John C. McNulty. Departure from Boston was at 0930, approximately on schedule, with a company clearance to Laconia under Visual Flight Rules. The first two segments of the flight, Boston-Concord and Concord-Laconia, were routine. Departure from Laconia was on schedule at 1039. The aircraft carried fuel for about four hours., its gross weight was considerably under the max allowable,. and its center of gravity was located within prescribed limits. Scheduled arrival at Berlin was 1112. A minute or so after takeoff the flight requested an IFR clearance f or the 73-mile flight which was at once approved by the company dispatcher at Boston, and Issued by the CAA Air Route Traffic Control Center, "Boston ATC clears Northeast Flight 792 for an approach to the Berlin Airport via Blue 63 to cruise 8,000 feet." At 1103 the flight called the company station at the Berlin Airport and asked for local weather. The station agent immediately gave the 1045 observation: Estimated 3,000 feet overcast; visibility 2-1/2 miles; light snow showers. The flight acknowledged but did not give its altitude and position. The agent then made a special weather observation at 1110 and transmitted the following information to the flight: 2,300 scattered, 39000 overcast; visibility 2-1/2 miles; light snow showers; wind northwest 10; snow showers to the north. (This was close to the Berlin minimums of 2,300 foot ceiling and 2 miles visibility.) The flight's acknowledgement of this transmission was logged at 1114; however, the actual time may have been as much as two minutes earlier as the agent was alone and busy. There was no further contact. No position report was received for North Conway, a company-required reporting point about midway between Laconia, and Berlin. At 1125 the company's Boston station asked by teletype regarding the flight, Accordingly, the Berlin operator called the flight at 1128 but received no reply. At 1130 he sent a special weather report and suggested that, the flight return to Laconia. Again there was no reply. (The accident had already occurred.) This special weather was: Ceiling estimated 1,500 feet broken, 3,000 feet overcast; visibility 2 miles; light snow; wind northwest 10 (below Berlin minimums).
Probable cause:
The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was a premature and unauthorized instrument descent to an altitude that did not permit terrain clearance. The following findings were reported:
- The 1114 company weather message for Berlin reported marginal weather conditions; this was acknowledged,
- The pilot started his descent not in accord with the approved instrument approach procedure for the Berlin, New Hampshire, airport,
- In so doing he struck a hill while letting down directly toward the airport.
Final Report:

Crash of an Avro 685 York C.1 in Kyritz: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jun 26, 1954
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-AGNY
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Hamburg – Berlin
MSN:
1226
YOM:
1946
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
While flying at an altitude of 7,500 feet, the engine number one detached from the wing. The pilot-in-command lost control of the aircraft that went into a dive and crashed in a field located in Kyritz. All three crew members were killed.

Crash of an airplane in Tula: 34 killed

Date & Time: Mar 26, 1952
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Tula - Berlin
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
30
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
34
Circumstances:
On landing at Tula Airport, an Aeroflot's airplane went out of control, veered off runway and collided with the Soviet Air Force aircraft that was holding for takeoff to Berlin. Both aircraft exploded and all 70 occupants on both aircraft were killed, 36 on board Aeroflot and 34 on board the Soviet Air Force airplane, among them 30 Army cadets. The exact circumstances of this ground collision remains unclear.

Crash of an Avro 691 Lancastrian XPP in Ludwiglust

Date & Time: May 10, 1949
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
G-AKDP
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Berlin – Lübeck
MSN:
3386
YOM:
1947
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
En route from Berlin to Lübeck, taking part to the Berlin Airlift, the crew encountered control problems. The captain decided to reduce his altitude and attempted an emergency landing in an open field located west of Ludwiglust. While the aircraft was damaged beyond repair, all four crew members were unhurt.

Crash of a Handley Page H.P.70 Halton I in Schleswig AFB

Date & Time: Apr 9, 1949
Operator:
Registration:
G-AHDP
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Berlin – Schleswig
MSN:
1341
YOM:
1946
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed on approach to Schleswig AFB while taking part to the Berlin Airlift. All three crew members were injured while the aircraft was destroyed.

Ground fire of a Handley Page HP.67 Hastings in Schleswig AFB

Date & Time: Apr 6, 1949
Operator:
Registration:
TG534
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Schleswig – Berlin
MSN:
39
YOM:
1948
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
During start up, an engine caught fire. The crew was able to evacuate but the aircraft was partially destroyed by fire.
Probable cause:
A fuel leak caused the fuel to flow into the nacelle and to catch fire during start up.

Crash of a Douglas C-54E-5-DO Skymaster in Celle AFB

Date & Time: Feb 15, 1949
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
44-9062
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Berlin – Celle
MSN:
27288
YOM:
1945
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On final approach to Celle AFB, while on a cargo flight from Berlin, the aircraft suffered an engine failure, stalled and crashed in flames. All three crew members were rescued while the aircraft was destroyed. It was taking part to the Berlin Airlift.
Probable cause:
Engine failure.