Air Tahoma Flight 587

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Air Tahoma Flight 587
Kelowna Flightcraft, Convair 580 Freighter, C-FKFZ-YVR (18267100269) .jpg

An identical Convair CV-580 from Kelowna Flightcraft
Accident summary
Accident type Loss of control
place 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Columbus-Rickenbacker International Airport , Ohio , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
date September 1, 2008
Fatalities 3
Survivors 0
Injured 0
Aircraft
Aircraft type United States 48United States Convair CV-580
operator United StatesUnited States Air Tahoma
Mark United StatesUnited States N587X
Departure airport Columbus-Rickenbacker International Airport , Ohio , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
Destination airport Mansfield-Lahm Municipal Airport , Ohio , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
Passengers 0
crew 3
Lists of aviation accidents

On the Air Tahoma Flight 587 (Flight number: HMA587 , call sign: TAHOMA 587 ) took place on 1 September 2008, a serious air accident. In the crash of a Convair CV-580 of Air Tahoma , with just a test flight from Columbus Rickenbacker International Airport was carried out, all three occupants were killed.

machine

The aircraft in question during its operating time at European Air Transport

The affected machine had the serial number 361 , was built as a Convair CV-440-12 and converted into a Convair CV-580 at a later date. The machine was delivered to the Sabena on September 19, 1956 , where it was put into operation with the aircraft registration OO-SCN . In 1967, the machine was taken out of operation and on 10 October 1967 with the new license plate N73162 on Frontier Airlines readmitted, in which the machine fleet number 162 received. Another change of registration took place on February 26, 1968 as a result of a conversion and a change in type designation as a result. The machine was operated from May 2, 1983 for the regional flight division Frontier Commuter of Frontier Airlines, from October 14, 1983 it was licensed to Combs Airways , which carried out its flights under the brand name Frontier Commuter and from January 12, 1984 on the IBS Airlines , did the same. From August 21, 1985 the machine was approved for the Metroflight . From October 2, 1987, the machine was owned by SAAB Aircraft Holdings Inc. On September 14, 1988, European Air Transport took over the machine and operated it with the aircraft registration number OO-DHJ on behalf of DHL Worldwide Express . In June 1989, the machine with its former US registration number N73162 was registered for DHL Airways , which also operated on behalf of DHL Worldwide Express . On February 15, 1990, the aircraft returned to the European Air Transport fleet with its former Belgian registration number OO-DHJ . On October 17, 1995, the machine was registered on the Saudi SNAS Worldwide Express , which also operated cargo flights for DHL Worldwide Express. From October 1, 2004, the machine with its last registration number N587X was registered with the company 580 Inc. until it was finally re-registered to Air Tahoma on February 2, 2005. The twin-engine medium-range aircraft was equipped with two turboprop engines of the type Allison 501-D13D equipped. By the time of the accident, the machine had completed 71,965 operating hours.

Inmates

There was a three-person crew on board the machine, consisting of a flight captain, a first officer and a third pilot who flew as an observer. The 57-year-old flight captain had a cumulative flight experience of 16,087 hours. The 58-year-old first officer had 19,285 hours of flight experience, of which he had completed 15,599 hours in the role of pilot flying .

the accident

The machine was to be used for a test flight from Columbus Airport to Mansfield Airport. The pilots were given take-off clearance at 12:00 noon and the take-off run began at 12:03 p.m. from runway 05L. About a minute later, at 12:04 p.m., the pilots contacted air traffic control and stated that they had to return to the airport. Clearance for landing on runway 0L has been granted. At around 12:06 p.m., the machine crashed into a corn field about a mile southwest of the threshold of runway 0L . All three inmates were killed

Crash site

During the investigation of the crash site, three places were discovered where corn plants had been shaved. The distances between the three points corresponded to the distances of the landing gear, which confirmed that the landing gear was extended on impact. It was found that the machine had assumed a slightly rightward roll angle at the time of the accident. Both the left and right propeller gears had been torn from the engines and were found near the point where the first impact occurred. All four propeller blades had been torn from the propeller hubs and were along the rubble field. Both propeller hubs were located approximately 1,250 feet from the original point of impact and were the farthest debris found from there. The rubble stretched from the first point of impact to an abandoned pair of train tracks within a row of trees. The main wreck was found about 160 feet south of the railroad tracks, or about 825 feet from the original point of impact.

root cause

The machine had undergone a major maintenance measure ( C-Check ) at Rickenbacker Airport . The following work was carried out:

  • Both propellers were removed.
  • The left engine propeller gearbox was disassembled for the Stage 1 inspection.
  • The left engine power plant was removed and some new parts were installed.
  • The right main landing gear strut has been replaced.
  • The nose landing gear was dismantled and resealed.
  • A function test was carried out in which the landing gear was fully retracted and extended again.
  • Both the elevator and the rudder were removed and replaced.
  • The right stabilizer was dismantled, all parts were inspected and reinstalled.
  • All flight control cables were disconnected and reconnected, reassembled and checked.

The investigators came to the conclusion that the ropes for the elevator trim had been swapped during maintenance at the last maintenance point. As a result, the trim system was configured in such a way that when the trim was operated, the Flettner rudders of the trim moved in the right direction, but the trim wheel in the cockpit moved in the opposite direction. As a result, the aircraft nose was oriented towards the ground when an upward trim was set in the cockpit. On the recordings of the cockpit voice recorder , the captain could be heard "Pull up!" 27 times . ("Pull!") Called. Instructions for retracting the landing gear or the buoyancy aids could not be heard.

In addition to the assembly error, the main accident factors were the inadequate functional check of the trim by the maintenance staff on the ground and the poor flight preparation by the aircraft crew.

swell

Coordinates: 39 ° 47 ′ 54 "  N , 82 ° 58 ′ 45"  W.