International accidents: 1 July–31 July 2018

Date 10 July
Aircraft Convair CV-340
Location 6 km (3.8 miles) ESE of Pretoria-Wonderboom Airport (PRY), South Africa
Fatalities 1
Description The aircraft was on a scenic flight. There were two Australian pilots and 17 passengers on board. After take-off one of the passengers alerted the crew that the left engine was on fire. The pilots indicated that they were not sure if they had retracted the landing gear. The aircraft could not maintain altitude and struck power lines. The aircraft continued for a further 71 m before impacting a treetop with its left wing and continued for a further 17 m before impacting a set of treetops again with its left wing. At 130 m it impacted two commercial vehicles, before colliding with a building resulting in the left outboard wing separating and coming to rest in the front of the building with which it collided. The left horizontal stabiliser and inboard wing separated at 137 m and 143 m respectively. The inboard section of the left wing caught fire and continued burning. The main wreckage, right wing and engine came to rest 250 m further on, 6 km to the east of the airport.

Date 4 July
Aircraft Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
Location Chicago-O’Hare International Airport, IL (ORD), USA
Injuries Nil
Description The aircraft’s left wing was struck by a ground service truck while it was parked at the gate with two crew aboard.

Date 5 July
Aircraft Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
Location 1.2 km (0.8 miles) from Padek Airstrip, South Sudan
Fatalities Nil
Description The aircraft sustained damage in an apparent forced landing. It was chartered by the Real Medicine Foundation (RMF), taking nutrition supplies to Jiech and Padek.

Date 6 July
Aircraft ATR 72-600 (72-212A)
Location Fez-Sais Airport (FEZ), Morocco
Fatalities Nil
Description The aircraft experienced a hard landing. The co-pilot was the pilot flying (PF) and was in training. The captain, as pilot monitoring (PM), reported that during the final flare, the aircraft was ‘literally thrown to the deck’ and in the final moments, he grabbed the yoke, trying to reduce the rate of descent, but did not have sufficient time. This resulted in a firm landing, during which the tail bumper contacted the ground and the belly scraped the runway. The aircraft rolled out without further incident and taxied to the apron.

Date 9 July
Aircraft de Havilland Canada DHC-3T Texas Turbine Otter
Location Parker Lake, NU, Canada
Fatalities Nil
Description The aircraft began take-off on the sandy shoreline with the pilot and one passenger onboard. During the take-off roll, the aircraft ran out of shore line and went into the water. The right main gear was torn off and the aircraft came to a rest in an upright position. The pilot and passenger were not injured, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage.

Date 10 July
Aircraft de Havilland Canada DHC-3T Vazar Turbine Otter
Location Mount Jumbo, Prince of Wales Island, AK, USA
Fatalities Nil
Description The float plane impacted rocky, mountainous terrain and sustained substantial damage. Of the 11 occupants on board, the pilot was uninjured, four passengers sustained minor injuries, and six passengers sustained serious injuries. The pilot reported that visibility decreased rapidly and in an attempt to turnaround and return to VFR conditions, he initiated a climbing right turn and became momentarily disorientated and collided with terrain.

Date 11 July
Aircraft Douglas DC-3C
Location San Felipe Airport, Colombia
Fatalities Nil
Description The aircraft sustained a runway excursion after landing. Both propellers separated as the aircraft came to rest in a ditch besides the runway. The aircraft carried humanitarian aid and several aid workers to San Felipe because of recent floodings in the region.

Date 16 July
Aircraft Boeing 737-8F2 (WL)
Location Cataratas del Iguazú-M.C.E. Krause Airport, MI (IGR), Argentina
Fatalities Nil
Description The aircraft suffered a tail scrape accident after it experienced a pronounced pitch up during the take-off roll, causing the underside of the rear fuselage to strike the runway. The take-off was aborted and the aircraft taxied back to the stand. There were no personal injuries.

Date 21 July
Aircraft Douglas C-47B (DC-3)
Location Burnet Municipal Kate Craddock Field, TX, USA
Fatalities Nil
Description Shortly after take-off the aircraft drifted right before touching the ground and coming to rest in the grass next to the runway. It then burst into flames. A video of the take-off shows the aircraft accelerating down the runway with the tailwheel leaving the ground briefly before touching down again and drifting off the left side of the runway. 

Date 23 July
Aircraft Cessna 560 Citation Encore
Location near Tulsa International Airport, OK (TUL), USA
Fatalities Nil
Description The aircraft experienced a bird strike while on approach to land. The aircraft sustained substantial damage and the occupants on board were not injured.

Date 27 July
Aircraft Antonov An-2R
Location 3 km (1.9 miles) from Kamako, Democratic Republic of Congo
Fatalities 5
Description The aircraft was destroyed when it crashed and burned 3 km from Kamako. There were seven people on board the aircraft. The pilot and passenger survived the accident.

Date 28 July
Aircraft ATR 72-500 (72-212A)
Location Port Vila-Bauerfield Airport (VLI), Vanuatu
Fatalities Nil
Description The aircraft veered off the runway during the initial landing roll and hit two parked aircraft. The pilots reported hearing a banging sound en route and the cockpit engine instruments indicted a loss of oil pressure on the no.2 (right) engine which they shut down. During the initial touchdown, the aircraft veered left and tracked about 450 metres from the runway towards the hangar where it impacted the aircraft. The pilot in command stated that they had no nose-wheel steering or brakes and they were powerless to stop the aircraft.

Date 31 July
Aircraft Embraer ERJ-190AR
Location Durango-Guadalupe Victoria Airport (DGO), Mexico
Fatalities Nil
Description The aircraft impacted terrain shortly after commencing take-off during a thunderstorm and a post-impact fire ensued. All 103 occupants survived but 49 suffered injuries that required hospitalisation. The aircraft had become airborne but lost altitude after being affected by a gust of wind. The aircraft ‘descended abruptly’ and hit the ground to the left of the runway. Both engines broke away during the subsequent ground slide.