Crash of a De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter 100 in Tau

Date & Time: Jun 17, 1988 at 1036 LT
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter
Operator:
Samoa Aviation
Registration:
N202RH
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Pago Pago - Tau
MSN:
68
YOM:
1967
Location:
Tau
All Samoa Islands
Country:
Samoa Islands (Western Samoa)
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
14
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
19455
Captain / Total hours on type:
3393.00
Aircraft flight hours:
18403
Circumstances:
The captain, who was flying the Twin Otter from the right seat, entered a right hand traffic pattern for landing. A left quartering, 15 knot headwind, was gusting across the airport. Upon turning to the final approach the captain reduced the aircraft's engine power to the low speed range for the visual approach. As the aircraft neared the runway the rate of descent accelerated. The captain's application of full engine power failed to arrest the aircraft's rate of descent and the aircraft impacted the ground short of the runway. All 16 occupants were injured.
Probable cause:
Occurrence #1: undershoot
Phase of operation: approach - vfr pattern - final approach
Findings
1. (c) planned approach - improper - pilot in command
2. (f) weather condition - turbulence
3. (f) weather condition - gusts
4. (c) powerplant controls - delayed - pilot in command
5. Stall/mush - inadvertent - pilot in command
----------
Occurrence #2: in flight collision with terrain/water
Phase of operation: approach - vfr pattern - final approach
Final Report:

Crash of a De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 in Tau: 1 killed

Date & Time: Jul 21, 1984 at 1340 LT
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter
Operator:
Registration:
N43SP
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Pago Pago - Tau
MSN:
669
YOM:
1980
Flight number:
HK513
Location:
Tau
All Samoa Islands
Country:
Samoa Islands (Western Samoa)
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
11
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Captain / Total flying hours:
5094
Captain / Total hours on type:
1020.00
Aircraft flight hours:
11281
Circumstances:
The aircraft crash landed after the pilot used flaps and power to semi control pitch after the elevator down control cable failed at about 300 feet agl on final approach. The left wing of the aircraft hit the terminal roof during the stall mush from 50 feet agl. The company is changing their aircraft control cables from steel to stainless steel to aid in the anti-corrosion and modifying their inspection period from 800 to 100 hours between inspections. The cable that separated failed from corrosion. No evidence of fatigue cracking or mechanical wear was found. Corrosion products were found within 2 inches of the serapation on both cable pieces.
Probable cause:
Occurrence #1: airframe/component/system failure/malfunction
Phase of operation: approach - vfr pattern - base leg/base to final
Findings
1. (c) flt control syst, elevator control - corroded
2. (c) flt control syst, elevator control - failure,total
----------
Occurrence #2: in flight collision with terrain/water
Phase of operation: descent - uncontrolled
Final Report:

Crash of a De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 in Tau

Date & Time: Nov 5, 1979 at 1703 LT
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter
Operator:
Registration:
N23BC
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Pago Pago - Tau
MSN:
431
YOM:
1974
Location:
Tau
All Samoa Islands
Country:
Samoa Islands (Western Samoa)
Region:
Oceania
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
16
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
6979
Captain / Total hours on type:
1073.00
Circumstances:
On final approach to Tau Airport, the copilot failed to call out low airspeed. Following an improper level off, the airplane bounced on landing then veered off runway and collided with trees. All 18 occupants were rescued, among them one passenger was seriously injured.
Probable cause:
Hard landing and subsequent collision with trees due to improper level off. The following contributing factors were reported:
- Improper recovery from bounced landing,
- The copilot failed to follow approved procedures,
- The copilot did not call out low airspeed on final.
Final Report:
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