Associated Aviation Flight 361

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Associated Aviation Flight 361
Associated Aviation EMB-120.jpg

The machine in 2008

Accident summary
Accident type Engine failure on take-off
place Lagos Airport , NigeriaNigeriaNigeria 
date 3rd October 2013
Fatalities 15th
Survivors 5
Injured 5
Aircraft
Aircraft type Brazil 1960Brazil Embraer EMB 120RT Brasilia
operator NigeriaNigeria Associated Aviation
Mark NigeriaNigeria 5N-BJY
Departure airport Lagos Airport , NigeriaNigeriaNigeria 
Destination airport Akure Airport , NigeriaNigeriaNigeria 
Passengers 13
crew 7th
Lists of aviation accidents

Associated Aviation flight 361 (flight number: SCD361 , call sign: ASSOCIATED 361 ) was a domestic charter flight of Associated Aviation from Lagos to Akure on October 3, 2013. On this flight, an Embraer EMB 120RT Brasilia crashed while taking off from Lagos Airport . 15 of the 20 people on board were killed in the accident.

plane

The Embraer EMB 120RT Brasilia aircraft in question was newly delivered to Britt Airways on March 23, 1990 and put into operation by Britt Airways with aircraft registration number N51726 . The Continental Express took over the Embraer on September 1, 1990. On March 3, 2006, the machine went to the company JRM Air LLC , which approved the Embraer with the new registration number N388JR . The machine was then exported to Nigeria, where it was in service with Associated Aviation from May 11, 2007 with the aircraft registration number 5N-BJY . The twin-engine short-range aircraft was equipped with a pressurized cabin and two turboprop engines of the type Pratt & Whitney PW118A equipped. Before the accident, the Embraer had completed 34,609 take-offs and landings ( cycles ) with 27,362 operating hours.

Crew and passengers

There were 13 passengers on board the machine. The crew of seven was exceptionally large for a short-haul aircraft with a two-man cockpit like the Embraer EMB 120. The captain was the pilot flying , the first officer was the pilot assisting . In addition, there were an engineer, a dispatcher, two flight attendants and a crew member, whose function was not specified by the operator, on board.

Cargo and purpose of flight

The machine had loaded the body of the Nigerian politician Olusegun Agagu , who was to be buried in Akure. The passengers should attend the memorial service. Relatives of the late politician were among the passengers on the plane. On that day it was already the second machine that had started in connection with the planned funeral of Agagus. A plane that had taken off earlier that day with the daughters and the widow Agagus had arrived safely in Akure.

the accident

The crew received clearance to take off from runway 18L at Lagos Airport. At this point there was relatively no wind in the area. About four seconds after increasing the engine power for takeoff, the crew received an automatic warning from the flight control computer. This consisted of three beeps, followed by the exclamation "Take off flaps ... Take off flaps ...". This is a configuration warning that indicates that the buoyancy aids are not in the correct position for takeoff. The warning did not seem to surprise the crew and they continued take-off as normal. The warning signal continued to sound throughout the take-off run. The crew members called out neither the speed of decision nor the speed of rotation . The aircraft took off from runway 18L at Murtala Mohammad Airport at 9:32 a.m. local time. The machine found it difficult to gain altitude immediately after takeoff. Less than a minute after take-off, the aircraft hit the ground with the nose pointing downwards and a roll angle of almost 90 degrees.

Recovery and rescue operation

Although Olusegun Agagu's coffin was damaged in the crash, it remained intact. One of the five surviving passengers was the governor's son.

root cause

The final report on the accident was published on April 18, 2018. The Nigerian investigative authorities considered the cause of the accident to be a decision by the crew to continue take-off despite an abnormal propeller speed on engine no. 2. The abnormal speed was displayed on the instruments. As a result, there was a stall at a low altitude, which resulted from insufficient thrust on engine no. 2 at the beginning of the take-off run. The exact malfunction caused by the controllable pitch propeller could not be determined.

Contributing factors were identified as pulling the aircraft's nose up before it reached rotational speed and choosing to continue a takeoff with a flap configuration warning and a propeller warning at low speed. The crew was accused of being less than professional and important procedures relating to crew resource management were not being followed. The misconduct was subsequently attributed to a deficient corporate policy and inadequate supervision by regulatory authorities.

The commission of inquiry came to the conclusion that both engines were functioning normally. However, the torque indicator on the left stuck at 76% after the engines started, while it should have been 22%. The crew carried out the take-off although it was not permitted according to the minimum equipment list with a defective torque display. From the recordings of the cockpit voice recorder it emerged that the pilots agreed before take-off that they would carry out the take-off "again" if the buoyancy aids warning should sound. This suggested that the pilots had previously carried out a take-off under such conditions.

swell

Coordinates: 6 ° 33 ′ 48.3 "  N , 3 ° 19 ′ 25.1"  E