Accidents: October 2015

PRELIMINARY REPORTS

King Air Damaged in Landing Accident
Beechcraft King Air 300, Rotterdam/The Hague Airport, Sept. 1, 2015–Neither of the two people aboard the aircraft was injured when the King Air landed gear-up on Runway 24. All the blades of both propellers were significantly damaged in the incident. The weather at the time of the landing was not reported.

Dauphin Destroyed in Crash in India
Airbus Helicopters AS365N, Tirap district, India, Aug. 4, 2015–All four people aboard the aircraft died when it crashed into dense jungle in weather reported as foggy. Wreckage of the helicopter, destroyed by a post-crash fire, was located two days later. The aircraft was operated by Pawan Hans Helicopters.

Sabreliner and Cessna Collide Near Brown Field
North American Rockwell NA265-60 and Cessna 172, San Diego Brown Field, Calif., Aug. 16, 2015–Five people died in the midair collision between a Sabreliner and 172 a mile northeast of Brown Field. Four of the occupants were aboard the jet and one in the Cessna.

The pilots of both aircraft were in contact with the Brown Field control tower at the time of the accident, which happened as the Sabreliner was inbound to the airport and the Cessna departing. Registered to BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services, the Sabreliner was being operated as a public-use flight by the U.S.Department of Defense in support of the U.S. Navy. The Cessna was registered to Plus One Flyers of San Diego, and operated under Part 91. The business jet was not equipped with a Tcas, nor, according to the NTSB, was it required to be.

JetRanger Damaged in Autorotation
Bell 206B, Cresco, Iowa, Aug. 18, 2015–The commercial pilot of the helicopter, registered to Fly Hangar 13, escaped injury when the aircraft struck the ground during an emergency landing following an engine failure. According to the NTSB preliminary report, the pilot departed on an agricultural mission with 25 gallons of fuel and 80 gallons of chemicals to spray a bean field near Cresco. About five minutes into the application, the engine lost power and the pilot initiated an autorotation to a waterway on the side of a hill. During touchdown on uneven terrain, the main rotor blades contacted and severed the tailboom. The pilot shut down the engine and exited the helicopter, which was substantially damaged in the accident.

Citation S/II Damaged in Venezuela
Cessna S550, Charallave-Oscar Machado Zuloaga Airport, Venezuela, Aug. 26, 2015–The aircraft was substantially damaged when it skidded off Runway 10 and slid down an embankment after touching down about halfway along the 6,562-foot runway. The aircraft is reported to have aborted its first landing and was making its second attempt. The extent of injuries to the eight people aboard is unknown.

King Air Departs Runway in Nova Scotia
Beechcraft King Air A100, Margaree Airport, Nova Scotia, Canada, Aug. 16, 2015–The King Air ran off the end of the 2,500-foot-long runway while landing. Injuries to the four people on board were not reported, nor were the prevailing weather conditions. Maritime Air Charter was operating the aircraft as a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight.

Caravan Ditches in the Caribbean 
Cessna 208B, near Saba Island in the Dutch Antilles, Aug. 12, 2015–The pilot was rescued after the turboprop single lost power and ditched near Saba. Operated by Mountain Air Cargo, the flight had originated from San Juan-Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in Puerto Rico at 10:49 a.m., headed for St. Kitts-Golden Rock Airport. The Cessna climbed to FL110, where it remained until 11:39 a.m. The aircraft then descended to FL100 and continued at that altitude until 11:53 a.m., when it entered a 600- to 800-fpm descent before the pilot changed course and headed toward Saba. The aircraft ditched just offshore and sank in 1,500 feet of water.

Sikorsky Rolls on Its Side During Emergency Landing
Sikorsky S-61A, near Ironside, Ore., Aug. 19, 2015–The helicopter landed on a mountainside at 7:30 p.m. in day-VFR conditions following a loss of engine power, according to the NTSB preliminary report. The ATP-rated pilot suffered minor injuries; the commercial-rated pilot in the other seat was unharmed. The helicopter, registered to and operated by Croman as a Part 133 firefighting flight, was substantially damaged.

The commercial pilot reported that shortly after picking up a bucket-load of water from a pond, he gathered airspeed and initiated a climbing left turn back toward the fire when he heard a drop in rpm and noticed a loss of power. The helicopter was too heavy to climb, so he released the water and landed the helicopter on the mountainside, at which point it rolled onto its right side.