ASN compiled a list of possible pilot suicides.

• 26 September 1976 – 12 fatalities
  A Russian pilot stole an Antonov 2 airplane directed his aircraft into the block of flats in Novosibirsk where his divorced wife lived.

• 22 August 1979 – 4 fatalities
  A 23 year old male mechanic who had just been fired entered a hangar at Bogotá Airport, Colombia and stole a military HS-748 transport plane. He took off and crashed the plane in a residential area.

• 13 July 1994 – 1 fatality
  A Russian Air Force engineer stole the aircraft at the Kubinka AFB to commit suicide. The aircraft crashed when there was no more fuel left.

• 21 August 1994 – 44 fatalities
  A Royal Air Maroc ATR-42 airplane crashed in the Atlas Mountains shortly after takeoff from Agadir, Morocco. The accident was suggested to have been caused by the captain disconnecting the autopilot and directing the aircraft to the ground deliberately. The Moroccan Pilot’s Union challenged these findings.

• 19 December 1997 – 104 fatalities
  Silk Air Flight 185, a Boeing 737 en route from Jakarta, Indonesia to Singapore, crashed in Indonesia following a rapid descent from cruising altitude. Indonesian authorities were not able to determine the cause of the accident. It has been suggested by amongst others the U.S. NTSB that the captain may have committed suicide by switching off both flight recorders and intentionally putting the Boeing 737 in a dive, possibly when the first officer had left the flight deck. During 1997 the captain experienced multiple work-related difficulties, particularly during the last 6 months. Also at the time of the accident the captain was experiencing significant financial difficulties, which was disputed by the Indonesian investigators.

• 11 October 1999 – 1 fatality
  An Air Botswana captain who had been grounded for medical reasons took off in an ATR-42. He made several demands over the radio and finally stated he was going the crash the plane. He caused the plane to crash into two parked ATR-42 aircraft on the platform at Gaborone Airport, Botswana.

• 31 October 1999 – 217 fatalities
  Egypt Air Flight 990, a Boeing 767, entered a rapid descent some 30 minutes after departure from New York-JFK Airport. This happened moments after the captain had left the flight deck. During the investigation it was suggested that the accident was caused by a deliberate act by the relief first officer. However, there was no conclusive evidence. The NTSB concluded that the accident was a “result of the relief first officer’s flight control inputs. The reason for the relief first officer’s actions was not determined.” The suggestions of a deliberate act were heavily disputed by Egyptian authorities.

• 29 November 2013 – 33 fatalities
  LAM Flight 470 entered a rapid descent while en route between Maputo and Luanda and crashed in Namibia. Preliminary investigation results indicate that the accident was intentional. The captain made control inputs that directed the plane to the ground, shortly after the first officer had left the flight deck.

The post Pilot Suicides first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Head of the Mozambique’s Civil Aviation Institute (IACM) Joao Abreu made some statements to the press.

Abreu said just before the Embraer 190 hit the ground, Captain Herminio dos Santos Fernandes locked himself in the cockpit, ignored warnings and did not allow his co-pilot back in.

Abreu said that Captain Herminio dos Santos Fernandes manipulated the Embraer 190’s autopilot in a way which “denotes a clear intention” to bring the plane down;

Abreu said that “During these actions you can hear low and high-intensity alarm signals and repeated beating against the door with demands to come into the cockpit.”

Input from the black boxes indicated that the altitude was changed three times from 38,000 feet to 592, and the spoilers were deployed and held.

The captain had 9,053 hours of flying time, 1,395 of them as the captain of an Embraer.

Do we really know what was going on in the cockpit of the plane as it went down in the Bwabwata National Park in north-east Namibia? Do we have any idea what went on in the mind of Captain Herminio dos Santos Fernandes?

I think not. I think it is too soon to make presumptions. I believe the investigation, if it is performed to industry standards—which may be a challenge, given Mozambique’s safety standards as regarded by the EU—has much more to reveal.

*Don’t watch the video below if you have a weak stomach. U.S. News does not carry such graphic images.

The post Early Preliminary Response on Mozambique Airlines Crash first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

DNA tests will be performed on the 31 bodies so far recovered from the Namibia’s Bwabwata National Park, site of the crash of Mozambique Airlines Flight 470, a Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW (ERJ-190AR) with 33 aboard. The plane is a total wreck, Written off (damaged beyond repair), burnt wreckage scattered in a low impact crash, possibly the result of bad weather.

The hundred-seat plane was only 1 / 3 full.

Recently revealed facts

• Only one body was found intact according to Theo Shilongo, investigation leader.
• The pilot was in Botswanan airspace when the pilot notified ATC of problems, though it took Mozambiqan authorities 3 hours to inform Nambia that the plane was off radar.
• The search was called off due to bad weather, but the next day locals called in reporting the crash.
• The wreckage will be transported to Rundu for investigation.
• The remains have been transported to Windhoek.
• An Angolan Pop artist, Jose Pascoal Luvuala (AKA Action Nigga) is among the dead.
• Angola Inspector General in the Ministry of Finance, Manuel John Landa and two colleagues are among the dead.

Video of the Debris Field

The post Mozambique Crash Video first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

The plane disappeared. A fruitless search Friday was cancelled due to rain and resumed Saturday. The wreckage was found in Nambia on Saturday. It had crashed in Bwabwata National Park-a protected game area and migration route 2,422 square miles. None of the twenty-seven passengers or six crew survived.

The wreckage was found burned out, the bodies scattered, near the Angola-Botswana border in a wilderness area. The black boxes were recovered by investigators.

PRESS RELEASE (Translated)

07:00 pm (Maputo), November 30, 2013
It is with great pain and consternation that LAM confirms the tragic event of crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft with registration C9-EMC that made the flight TM470 Maputo-Luanda, last November 29, 2013.

At the end of the morning, the Namibian aviation authorities confirmed that the search and rescue team had located the place where the plane crashed in the North of Namibia, there are no survivors.

Right now, our prayers and our full attention go to the relatives of the passengers and crew who were aboard this plane, dedicating all our moral and psychological support in order to minimize the pain for the loss of their loved ones. This is our priority.

As the first form of assistance the LAM established a family support centre at the airports of Maputo and Luanda. Were assigned to these centers, specialized professionals for this type of events with the aim of providing the due advice to families. At the same time our legal department is working to give all judicial assistance with regard to the procedures to be followed after a plane crash where there have been fatalities.

We put at the disposal of the members of the affected families, a dedicated line for which you can call and get information. The number is: +258 21468778/9.

The flight TM470 took on board 27 passengers and 6 crew members.

The nationalities of the passengers were the following:

Mozambique (10);
Angola (9);
Portugal (5);
France (1);
China (1);
Brazil (1).

The crew comprised two pilots and three cabin crew and a technician.

LAM has already informed the embassies of countries whose citizens perished in this accident.

Engage an international company specializing in the management of disasters of this nature, Kenyon International, to support the efforts of the search and recovery of the remains of the victims and their belongings. For families this aspect is quite important because it will enable the identification of each person who was aboard this flight.

Part of Kenyon’s team is already on the way from the crash site being that the other party will join them tomorrow, arrived from England. We hope to have a clearer assessment about the scene of the accident throughout the day tomorrow, Sunday.

LAM sent this afternoon for Namibia an emergency response team to provide all the support to the authorities who are investigating this accident. According to international aviation rules, Namibia, a country where the accident occurred, should lead the investigation. Aeronautical authorities of Mozambique, Angola, Brazil and the air transport safety Bureau of the United States will also participate in the investigation.

Do we still have information about the circumstances in which the accident occurred, and we can’t even speculate on the likely causes of the same, since we should give time and space for researchers to conduct their work without interference.

Here’s the info on the plane involved in this accident:

The Embraer 190 Aircraft type);

B) Registration: C9-EMC;

C) capacity: 93 seats (9 Business and Economic 84);

D) manufacturing Country: Brazil;

E) powerplant: 2 General Electric CF34 engines-10 turbofan engines;

F) delivery date: November 17, 2012.

Until the date of the accident the plane had performed 2905 hours of flight time and flight 1877.

Finally we would like to express our thanks to the Governments of Namibia, Angola, Botswana and South Africa for their support and resources provided to rescue teams.

We owe our thanks to the volunteers and individuals who provided in support to families of the victims.

We will give more information as they become available.

We appeal to all the greater solidarity and support as possible in regard to pain and privacy of families affected.

Note:we ask journalists who wish to more information are kindly requested to contact the Office of institutional communication through numbers 827846815/825777946.

LAM will provide up-to-date information through the website: www.LAM.co.mz

PRESS RELEASE (Translated)

09:00 pm (Maputo), November 29, 2013

LAM-Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique, s. a. reports that the flight departed from 470 TM Maputo international airport at 11:26 hours today, November 29, 2013, en route to Luanda, the Angolan capital, had its landing scheduled for the 14: 10:0, local time. Follow aboard 28 passengers and 6 crew members.

Information obtained gives indication of the aircraft have landed in Rundo, northern Namibia, bordering Botswana and Angola.

Currently LAM, Aeronautics and airport authorities are committed to establish contacts in order to confirm the information.

LAM will provide more information as the investigations are ongoing.

For additional information, contact the Office of institutional communication of LAM through Norberto Mucopa: 82 7846815 and Irina Matos: 825777946.

Maputo, November 29, 2013

See Video

The post Thirty-four Missing in Nambia first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.