Hassi R’Mel – Ghardaïa

The aircraft departed Hassi R'Mel-Tilrhempt Airport at 2030LT on a 15-minutes charter flight to Ghardaïa, carrying three crew members and two employees of the Sonatrach (Société Nationale pour le Transport et la Commercialisation d’Hydrocarbures). At 2044LT, the crew was cleared for a right hand circuit in preparation for an approach to runway 30. At that moment a Boeing 727 inbound from Djanet was on long finals. The copilot stated that he intended to carry out an NDB/ILS approach to runway 30. The captain however preferred a visual approach. The copilot carried out the captain's course and descent instructions with hesitation. At 2057LT, the EGPWS alarm sounded. Power was added and a climb was initiated from a lowest altitude of 240 feet above ground level. The captain then took over control and assumed the role of Pilot Flying. The airplane manoeuvred south of the airport until 2101LT when the copilot saw the runway. The captain rolled left to -57° and pitched down to -18.9° in order to steer the airplane towards the runway. Again the EGPWS sounded but the descent continued until the airplane impacted the ground and broke up. All five occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed. A day later, the copilot died from his injuries.
Hassi R’Mel – Ghardaïa — crash photo

Flight / Schedule

Hassi R’Mel – Ghardaïa

Registration

7T-VIN

MSN

UE-365

Year of Manufacture

1999

Date

January 28, 2004 at 09:01 PM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Flight Phase

Landing (descent or approach)

Crash Site

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Crash Location

Ghardaïa Ghardaïa

Region

Africa • Algeria

Coordinates

32.4824°, 3.6800°

Crash Cause

Human factor

Narrative Report

On January 28, 2004 at 09:01 PM, Hassi R’Mel – Ghardaïa experienced a crash involving Beechcraft 1900D, operated by Tassili Airlines, with the event recorded near Ghardaïa Ghardaïa.

The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

5 people were known to be on board, 1 fatalities were recorded, 4 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 20.0%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 2, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The aircraft departed Hassi R'Mel-Tilrhempt Airport at 2030LT on a 15-minutes charter flight to Ghardaïa, carrying three crew members and two employees of the Sonatrach (Société Nationale pour le Transport et la Commercialisation d’Hydrocarbures). At 2044LT, the crew was cleared for a right hand circuit in preparation for an approach to runway 30. At that moment a Boeing 727 inbound from Djanet was on long finals. The copilot stated that he intended to carry out an NDB/ILS approach to runway 30. The captain however preferred a visual approach. The copilot carried out the captain's course and descent instructions with hesitation. At 2057LT, the EGPWS alarm sounded. Power was added and a climb was initiated from a lowest altitude of 240 feet above ground level. The captain then took over control and assumed the role of Pilot Flying. The airplane manoeuvred south of the airport until 2101LT when the copilot saw the runway. The captain rolled left to -57° and pitched down to -18.9° in order to steer the airplane towards the runway. Again the EGPWS sounded but the descent continued until the airplane impacted the ground and broke up. All five occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed. A day later, the copilot died from his injuries.

Aircraft reference details include registration 7T-VIN, MSN UE-365, year of manufacture 1999.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 32.4824°, 3.6800°.

Fatalities

Total

1

Crew

1

Passengers

0

Other

0

Crash Summary

The aircraft departed Hassi R'Mel-Tilrhempt Airport at 2030LT on a 15-minutes charter flight to Ghardaïa, carrying three crew members and two employees of the Sonatrach (Société Nationale pour le Transport et la Commercialisation d’Hydrocarbures). At 2044LT, the crew was cleared for a right hand circuit in preparation for an approach to runway 30. At that moment a Boeing 727 inbound from Djanet was on long finals. The copilot stated that he intended to carry out an NDB/ILS approach to runway 30. The captain however preferred a visual approach. The copilot carried out the captain's course and descent instructions with hesitation. At 2057LT, the EGPWS alarm sounded. Power was added and a climb was initiated from a lowest altitude of 240 feet above ground level. The captain then took over control and assumed the role of Pilot Flying. The airplane manoeuvred south of the airport until 2101LT when the copilot saw the runway. The captain rolled left to -57° and pitched down to -18.9° in order to steer the airplane towards the runway. Again the EGPWS sounded but the descent continued until the airplane impacted the ground and broke up. All five occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed. A day later, the copilot died from his injuries.

Cause: Human factor

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

3

Passengers On Board

2

Estimated Survivors

4

Fatality Rate

20.0%

Known people on board: 5

Operational Details

Schedule / Flight

Hassi R’Mel – Ghardaïa

Flight Type

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Flight Phase

Landing (descent or approach)

Crash Site

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Region / Country

Africa • Algeria

Aircraft Details

Registration

7T-VIN

MSN

UE-365

Year of Manufacture

1999

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