Transmeridian Air Cargo Flight 3751

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Transmeridian Air Cargo Flight 3751
Canadair CL-44D-4 G-AXUL Tr Meridian STA 5/16/76 edited-2.jpg

An identical aircraft from the airline
Accident summary
Accident type Structural failure after engine fire
place South China Sea , 5 km east-northeast Wang Lang Island , Hong KongHong KongHong Kong 
date 2nd September 1977
Fatalities 4th
Survivors 0
Aircraft
Aircraft type CanadaCanada Canadair CL-44D4-2
operator United KingdomUnited Kingdom Transmeridian Air Cargo
Mark United KingdomUnited Kingdom G-ATZH
Departure airport Kai Tak Airport , Hong KongHong KongHong Kong 
Destination airport Bangkok Airport , ThailandThailandThailand 
Passengers 0
crew 4th
Lists of aviation accidents

The Transmeridian Air Cargo flight 3751 (flight number: KK3751 ) was a cargo flight operated by the British Transmeridian Air Cargo from Hong Kong to Bangkok on September 2, 1977. A serious aircraft accident occurred on this flight when the Canadair CL-44D4- 2 broke apart shortly after takeoff and crashed into the sea. The four-man crew of the machine died in the accident.

machine

The aircraft was a Canadair CL-44D4-2 with the serial number 21 . The machine completed its maiden flight on May 17, 1961 with the test registration number CF-NNE-X , before it was delivered to the Flying Tiger Line on July 4, 1961 , which put the CL-44 with the aircraft registration number N452T into operation. On September 20, 1966, a leasing contract was signed with Transglobe Airways and the aircraft was registered with the new G-ATZH registration , but it was never taken over and the leasing contract was terminated soon afterwards. On May 4, 1967, the machine was registered again with its former registration number N452T on the Flying Tiger Line and continued to be operated from 1970 until it was temporarily decommissioned and stored . On January 29, 1972, the machine was sold to Transmeridian Air Cargo and completed a transfer flight from Los Angeles International Airport to London Stansted Airport and then on to London Southend Airport . On March 7, 1972, the machine was supposed to be registered again with the G-ATZH registration , which had already been applied in 1966 , but the registration was initially applied as G-ATHZ , which later had to be corrected. On March 13th, the machine was flown back to London Stansted Airport and stored there. On August 1, 1972, the machine was painted for film work with a painting of the Royal Air Force , the military aircraft registration number XV196 and the lettering Royal Air Force Air Support Command . After the film work was finished, the machine was parked for a while and was used as a parts carrier . From February 1, 1974, it was overhauled and prepared for continued operation. On August 8, 1975, the aircraft received a new airworthiness certificate and went back into operation one day later with the registration G-ATZH . The four-engine long-haul cargo plane was equipped with a fold-down rear part (Swing Tail) and four turboprop engines of the type Rolls-Royce Tyne 515-12 equipped. By the time of the accident, the machine had had a total operating performance of 29,376 operating hours, 69 of which were operating hours since the last regular maintenance inspection.

crew

There was a crew of four on board the machine, consisting of a flight captain, a first officer, a flight engineer and a navigator:

  • In addition to the CL-44, the 48-year-old flight captain also had a type rating for the Lockheed L-749 Constellation and Auster machines. He had a cumulative flight experience of 11,446 hours and 30 minutes, of which he had completed 5,880 hours in the cockpit of the Canadair CL-44.
  • The 41-year-old first mate, in addition to his type rating as first mate of the Canadair CL-44, also had ratings for the Piper PA-30 , Piper PA-39 , Cessna 150 , Cessna 172 , Cessna 175 and Cessna 182 . He had 6,356 hours and 45 minutes of flight experience with all types of aircraft, with the CL-44 he had completed 2,153 hours and 15 minutes, all of them in the role of first officer.
  • The 52-year-old flight engineer had 11,841 hours of flight experience, 5,556 hours of which in the cockpit of the Canadair CL-44.
  • The flight navigator used was 57 years old.

the accident

The machine was to be used on an intercontinental flight from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom . There were several stopovers, of which Bangkok was the first. The crew received clearance to take off from runway 13 at Kai Tak Airport and took off at night. Immediately after the machine started at 8:30 a.m. local time, engine no.4 was damaged. Eyewitnesses reported visible plumes of smoke emerging from this engine. A fire developed. Only one minute after take-off, the pilots asked for clearance to make an emergency landing on runway 31. They brought the propeller into the sail position, but the fire was progressing. The pilots were given clearance to descend to 2,000 feet. In the next instant, and only eight minutes after take-off, the machine crashed into the South China Sea after losing control near Waglan Island, killing all four crew members.

causes

It was found that the machine had fallen into the sea after a loss of control, after engine no. 4 and the end of the right wing broke off the machine due to the ongoing fire. This followed a failure of engine no. 4, a fire inside the engine and a fire in the fuel system, which eventually developed into a huge external fire.

swell

Coordinates: 22 ° 12 ′ 0 ″  N , 114 ° 21 ′ 0 ″  E