Flight

En route from Pointe-Noire to Brazzaville, the crew encountered poor weather conditions. The aircraft went out of control, entered a dive and crashed in an open field located in the region of Kinkala, about 70 km southwest of Brazzaville. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 28 occupants were killed, among them several civilians. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were poor with heavy rain falls and wind gusting to 40 knots.

The aircraft had been chartered for a flight from Perth to Port Hedland. The pilot arrived at the aircraft at 2210 hours on 25 January, and after a short inspection of the aircraft, attended the CAA flight planning office for air traffic control and meteorology briefing. The briefing included information about a tropical cyclone off the NW coast of Australia and its potential effects on the proposed flight. After the flight plan was submitted, the pilot returned to the aircraft at 2315 hours as the loading was being completed, and conducted a preflight inspection of the aircraft and its load. The aircraft departed Perth at 2339 and commenced a climb towards Ballidu, the first turning point, over which it passed at 0003 hours. Subsequently, the aircraft passed over Mt Singleton at 0020, Mt Magnet at 0040 and Meekatharra at 0102 hours. After Ballidu, the aircraft climbed from FL170 to FL190 and climbed further to FL210 after Mt Magnet. While over Meekatharra, the passenger (also a licenced pilot) gave the position report. One minute later, the pilot radioed that the aircraft was out of control and descending. He called again 30 seconds later and advised that the aircraft was in ice and spinning down through 8,000 feet. No further communications were received from the aircraft. Both occupants were killed.

Crashed in unknown circumstances. There were no casualties.

Following an uneventful flight from Ujung Pandang (Makassar), the crew started the descent to Lombok Airport when he encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls. The captain was cleared by ATC to divert to Mataram-Selaparang Airport when, in limited visibility, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Rinjani located on north part of the island. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact and all 19 occupants were killed.

At 0515 est, the flight was cleared for takeoff on a flight from Ypsilanti, MI to Louisville, KY. About 17 minutes later, the flight crew began to display indications of a deterioration of their ability to control the aircraft. At 1st, they deviated from instruments to hold west of the Findlay VOR at FL220. As the flight continued and was cleared to FL270, the crew displayed confusion about magnetic headings and basic instruments. At 1048 est, the aircraft deviated from the en route heading and the wrong heading was read back after a heading correction was given. Also, the aircraft continued climbing (to FL291), then radar and radio contact were lost at 0551 est. The controller noted the pilot's speech was slurred and some portions of the conversation were unintelligible. Subsequently, the aircraft crashed in a steep dive. No preimpact part failure was verified, though impact forces and post-crash fire resulted in extensive damage of the aircraft. The aircraft was equipped with oxygen and pressurization system. No audible warning was noted on ATC recordings to indicate the cabin altitude had exceeded 10,000 feet, though the aircraft was equipped with such a device. Both pilots were killed.

PM Air flight 824, a Federal Express scheduled domestic cargo flight, departed Denver, CO, at 0642, IFR to Montrose, CO. Flight was cleared to FL180, but pilot cancelled IFR at 0653. Radar showed aircraft leveled off at 14,500 feet on southwest heading. Aircraft maintained relative constant altitude and heading before crashing 50 feet below summit of 14,221-feet Mt Massive, second tallest peak in Colorado, at approximately 0719. Weather was cavu. Toxicological tests revealed marijuana metabolite level of 37 ng/ml in urine and 1 ng/ml in blood. Pilot was once convicted in 1974 for possession of controlled substance, but had no other alcohol/drug convictions. Evidence indicates pilot obtained adequate sleep prior to flight. During autopsy, two pages from airmen's information manual were found clutched in plt's hands. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

While level after descending, the right engine quit. Pilot feathered the propeller, advised ATC, and was diverting to alternate when left engine quit. He positioned the left engine boost pump to high and low with negative results, but did not feather the propeller. Position of boost pumps, when engines quit, was not determined. Aircraft landed on overpass that was under construction. There was fuel leakage after accident due to aircraft damage. Fuel quantity was sufficient. Examination of aircraft revealed right engine flexible duct from turbocharger to plenum chamber separated due to loose clamp. Hose was installed and club prop installed for each engine run. Both engines operated normally. Induction air hose was pulled during right engine run. Engine ran rough due to excessive rich mixture. No determination could be made for the reason of the left engine power loss.

Crashed in Kajo Keji after being shot down. Occupant fate unknown.

While approaching Port Vila following an uneventful flight from Lenakel, all three engines failed due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft struck coconut trees and crashed in a pasture. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and all occupants were rescued.

En route from Palembang to Jakarta, while cruising at an altitude of 9,500 feet, the right engine failed. As the crew was unable to maintain the assigned altitude, luggages and cargos were jettisoned but the aircraft continued to descent. Eventually, the crew was forced to ditch the aircraft that crashed in the Banten Bay, few km offshore. Seven people were rescued while nine others including both pilots were killed.