Mountains

The single engine airplane departed Tarakan on a cargo service to Binuang, carrying two crew members and a load of 583 kilos of food supplies. En route, the airplane collided with trees and crashed on the slope of a wooded mountain located in the Long Liku area. Rescue teams arrive on site the following day. The pilot was injured and the flight engineer was killed. The airplane was destroyed.

The airplane departed U-Tapao Airport, Thailand, in the early morning, on an ambulance flight to Moscow-Zhukovsky Airport. Chartered by Gazpromavia, it was carrying four passengers and two crew members. A first fuel stop was made in Gaya, Bihar, and a second fuel stop was scheduled in Tashkent. After three hours and 45 minutes into the flight, while cruising at FL380 over the Afghan mountains, the crew declared an emergency and elected to divert to Kulob, southeast Tajikistan. Few minutes later, one of the engine failed, followed shortly later by the second one. In such conditions, the crew attempted an emergency landing when the airplane crashed on the slope of Mt Topkhana located in the province of Badakhshan, bursting into flames. Four people were rescued and two passengers were killed.

The single engine airplane departed Gap-Tallard Airport on a local skydiving mission, carrying 15 skydivers and one pilot. After all 15 skydivers jumped out, the pilot was returning to his departure point. This was the sixth flight of the day. The pilot started the descent then made a wide left turn to reach the final approach. At an altitude of 6,400 feet, in contrast to previous flights, the pilot turned right onto a south-westerly course and continued the descent in a straight line. At 1050LT, the plane collided head-on with the mountainside near the Pic de Crigne. The airplane disintegrated on impact and the pilot was killed.

The crew departed Volos-Néa Anchialos Airport on a fire fighting mission in the area of Karystos, in the south of the Euboea Island. Approaching the zone under fire at low height, the crew dropped the load of water then elected to gain height when the right wing tip float struck a tree and was torn off. The airplane entered a right turn and descended to the ground, crashing in a hilly terrain southwest of the initial impact. The airplane was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and both crew members were killed.
Crew:
S/L Christos Moulas, pilot,
Cpt Periklis Stafanidis, copilot.

The single engine airplane departed Elelim Airport at 1054LT on a flight to Poik, carrying four passengers, two pilots and a load of cargo. About six minutes later, it impacted the slope of a wooded mountain located 12 km from the airport. The airplane was totally destroyed by impact forces and all six occupants were killed.

At 1121LT on 20 June 2023, the privately registered Quest Kodiak 100 amphibious float-equipped aircraft (registration C-GKTX, serial number 100-0010) departed Masset Airport (CZMT), British Columbia (BC), on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight to Tofino/Long Beach Airport (CYAZ), BC, with 1 pilot and 3 passengers on board. While enroute, at 1246, the pilot contacted air traffic control to cancel IFR and continued the flight under visual flight rules (VFR). The aircraft continued the flight to the planned final destination, which was a cabin approximately 60 nautical miles northwest of CYAZ. The aircraft followed an inlet (Tahsis Narrows) toward the destination and continued for a straight-in landing on the water, near the cabin. On initial touchdown, both floats touched the surface of the water simultaneously. The aircraft bounced and, as the aircraft approached the surface of the landing area the 2nd time in a level attitude, the left float reportedly made contact with either a boat wake or object. 2 The force of the contact resulted in the aircraft bouncing to a height of approximately 30 feet and banking to the right. The pilot initiated a go-around. At 1337, during the initial climb over land, the aircraft contacted trees and then impacted the terrain. The pilot and 1 passenger were fatally injured, 1 passenger received serious injuries, and 1 passenger received minor injuries. There was a post-impact fire. The aircraft was destroyed. The emergency locator transmitter signal was received by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria, BC. The Canadian Coast Guard, Canadian Armed Forces search and rescue, the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), and fire personnel responded.

The pilot and three passengers departed on a cross-country flight. Shortly after the airplane climbed through 26,600 ft, the pilot stopped responding to air traffic control instructions. According to ADS-B data, the airplane continued climbing to 34,000 ft, then flew at that altitude along its flight plan waypoints, turning southwest to overfly the intended destination about 1 hour later. The airplane continued flying for about another hour along a relatively constant track and altitude before entering a spiraling descent and impacting terrain. United States Air Force (USAF) pilots intercepted the airplane about 2 minutes before it began the spiraling descent. They observed no breaches of the airplane structure or doors, no smoke in the cockpit or passenger cabin, and no oxygen masks deployed in the cabin. One occupant was observed slumped over in the pilot seat and no movement or other occupants were observed in the cabin. Based on the lack of response to air traffic control communications, ADS-B data showing the airplane following its flight plan waypoints at the altitude last assigned by air traffic control, and the USAF pilot observations, it is likely that the pilot of the accident airplane became incapacitated during the climb to cruise altitude. It is also likely the airplane trajectory was then directed by the autopilot until a point at which it was no longer able to maintain control. The pilot had medical conditions, including high blood pressure and high cholesterol, that represented some increased risk of an impairing or incapacitating cardiovascular event. In addition, the pilot had prior prescriptions for medications that could be impairing if used too recently before flight. However, there was no evidence of the pilot being at exceptionally high incapacitation risk, or of using medications inappropriately. Based on the accident circumstances, it is likely that all the airplane occupants were incapacitated due to a common environmental condition, such as loss of cabin pressurization. Maintenance records indicated that, at the time of the accident flight, five items were overdue for inspection, including the co-pilot oxygen mask. About 4 weeks before the accident flight, maintenance personnel noted 26 discrepancies that the owner declined to address, including several related to the pressurization and environmental control system. Furthermore, 2 days before the accident flight, maintenance personnel noted that the pilot-side oxygen mask was not installed, and the supplementary oxygen was at its minimum serviceable level. At that level, oxygen would not have been available to the airplane occupants and passenger oxygen masks would not have deployed in the event of a loss of pressurization. No evidence was found to indicate that the oxygen system was serviced or that the pilot-side oxygen mask was reinstalled before the accident flight. Altitude-related hypoxia, although not verifiable from forensic medical evidence, likely explains the incapacitation of the airplane occupants. According to the FAA Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, impairing effects from hypoxia are often vague and are experienced differently by different individuals; they include confusion, disorientation, diminished judgment and reactions, worsened motor coordination, difficulty communicating and performing simple tasks, a false sense of well-being, diminished consciousness, and, if conditions aren’t remedied or mitigated, death. Between 30,000 and 35,000 ft, the time of useful consciousness for a pilot to take protective action against hypoxia, including donning an oxygen mask and descending, is about 1/2 to 2 minutes. These times depend on multiple variables, including medical factors, with substantial variation among individuals. The times are decreased by about half when depressurization is rapid. However, gradual depressurization can be as dangerous or more dangerous than rapid depressurization because of its potential to insidiously impair a pilot’s ability to recognize and respond to the developing emergency until the pilot is no longer effectively able to do so. Cognitive impairment from hypoxia makes it harder for affected individuals to recognize their own impairment. Based on the available information, it is likely that the airplane occupants became hypoxic due to a lack of oxygen during the flight and became incapacitated. However, the reason for the loss of pressurization, and whether it was rapid or progressed over time, could not be determined.

The flight was bound for Manila with one pilot, one aircraft mechanic, and two passengers on board. The aircraft was reported missing after it took off from Bicol International Airport (RPLK) at Daraga, Albay. The aircraft is being operated by the Energy Development Corporation (EDC) and was on a routine general aviation flight. All aircraft occupants were fatally injured in this accident. The pilot submitted a VFR to IRF flight plan that will utilize standard departure on RWY 05 of RPLK. According to the flight plan, it will be transitioning to IFR and intercepting NAGA VOR. It will further continue W9 airway and proceed to ALABAT for the arrival procedure in Manila. The flight departed from RWY 05, made a procedural right upwind turn, and crossed the final approach of RWY 05. At 0647LT, ATC established contact with the aircraft while passing 2,600 ft. The ATC inquired if the flight had already passed Camalig by-pass, and the pilot responded "We're passing Camalig by-pass now". The pilot was instructed by ATC to continue climbing and report twenty nautical miles out of RPLK, which was acknowledged by the pilot. At 0650LT, no position report was received from the aircraft. The ATC initiated contact with the aircraft several times, but no response was received. The duty ATC contacted the Manila Area Control Center (MACC) for any signatures of the aircraft that they might have picked up. The MACC informed the ATC that there was an initial signature contact that later disappeared on the radar monitor. At about 0900LT, the Philippine Aeronautical Rescue Coordinating Center (PARCC) elevated the alert to a DETRESFA on the missing aircraft. On the next day, February 19, 2023, the operator launched their own search operation using an AW139 helicopter, which was able to locate the missing aircraft at about 6,300 feet on the south-west slope of Mt Mayon Volcano with grid coordinates of 13°14'56.45 N and 123°40'57.79 E. An aerial reconnaissance by CAAP-AAIIB investigators and EDC using a helicopter was conducted on 20 February 2023. The general impact area shows the scattered wreckage of aircraft debris and signs of post-impact fire. All four occupants were killed.

The crew departed Lamezia Terme Airport on a fire fighting mission at the foot of the Etna Volcano, north of Catania. Approaching the area on fire, the crew initiated a right hand turn and while descending to rising terrain, the right wing tip impacted the ground, causing the aircraft to crash, bursting into flames. Both pilots were killed.

While approaching Charallave-Óscar Machado Zuloaga Airport, the crew encountered technical problems (apparently with the reversers) and declared an emergency. The captain initiated a go around procedure and completed a circuit south of the airport. During a second approach, the airplane deviated from the approach path to the south and continued until it impacted the top of a hill located 8 km south of the airport. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all six occupants were killed, among them Christian Toni, President of the Estudiantes de Mérida football club.