Birgenair Flight 301

Infobox Airliner accident
name = Birgenair Flight 301
Crash

Image caption= TC-GEN parked at Berlin-Schönefeld International Airport in July 1995
Date = February 6, 1996
Type = Speed sensor defective, leading to autopilot and pilot errors
Site = 26 km (14 nm) NE off Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Origin = Gregorio Luperón International Airport, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Stopover0 = Gander International Airport, Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Stopover1 = Berlin-Schönefeld International Airport, Berlin, Germany
Destination = Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Germany
Fatalities = 189
Injuries = 0
Aircraft Type = Boeing 757-225
Operator = Birgenair (Alas Nacionales)
Tail Number = TC-GEN
Passengers = 180
Crew = 9
Survivors = 0

Birgenair Flight 301 was a Puerto Plata-Gander-Berlin-Frankfurt flight chartered by Turkish-managed Birgenair partner Alas Nacionales ("National Wings"). On February 6, 1996 the Boeing 757-225 operating the route crashed shortly after take-off from Puerto Plata's Gregorio Luperón International Airport. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960210/ai_n14030127 "Crash plane may not have been serviced"] , "The Independent"] [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9602/plane_crash/02-08/11am/index.html "Rescuers call off search in plane crash"] , "CNN"]

Passengers

The crew consisted of 11 Turks and 2 Dominicans. The passengers consisted mainly of Germans, along with a few Poles.

Most passengers had booked Caribbean package holidays with Öger Tours; Birgenair held 10% of Öger Tours. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960209/ai_n14028010 "Bonn grounds 757 as crash mystery grows"] . "The Independent"]

Crash

After takeoff at 11:42 p.m the captain found that his air speed indicator (ASI) was not working properly, although the co-pilot's ASI was functional. While the plane was climbing to convert|4700|ft|m, the captain's ASI indicated 350 knots, which triggered an autopilot reaction, increasing the pitch-up attitude and reducing power to lower the plane's airspeed. Investigations showed that the plane was actually travelling at 220 knots at the time. Both pilots became confused when the co-pilot's ASI read 200 knots (decreasing) while getting rudder ratio and Mach airspeed advisory warnings and a stick-shaker warning. The pilots concluded that both ASIs were malfunctioning. The autopilot, which received the captain's faulty ASI readings, was disconnected by the pilots and they gave full thrust. At 11:47 p.m., the Ground Proximity Warning System gave an audio warning, and eight seconds later the plane crashed into the Caribbean Sea. All 13 crew members and 176 passengers died.

Investigation and final report

The Dominican Republic government's "Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil" (DGAC) investigated the accident and determined the following probable cause for the accident:

"The crew's failure to recognize the activation of the stick shaker as a warning of imminent entrance to the stall, and the failure of the crew to execute the procedures for recovery from the onset of loss of control."

The investigation concluded that a pitot tube was blocked, but neither tube was recovered and they were unable to determine what was blocking it. However, investigators suspected that some kind of insect could have created a nest inside the pitot tube. One specific species called the Black and yellow mud dauber wasp is well-known by pilots flying in the Dominican Republic, so it is the primary suspect. The aircraft had not flown in 25 days, giving the wasps an opportunity to build nests in the tubes. ["The Plane That Wouldn't Talk", "Mayday"]

The Dominican Navy, the United States Coast Guard, and private Dominican boats scoured the waters. Coast Guard officers found coffee cans compressed into pieces of tin by the impact forces.

Aftermath

Later the same year, Aeroperú Flight 603 suffered from a similar situation and crashed in the ocean off Peru.

See also

*Lists of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners
*Pitot-static system
*Aeroperú Flight 603
*"Mayday" ("Air Crash Investigation", "Air Emergency")

References

*

External links

* http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=02061996&reg=TC-GEN&airline=Birgenair
* [http://www.fester.de/friedhof/flug19690206.htm Views of the memorial revealing names of victims]