F27, vicinity Sharjah UAE, 2004

Summary
On 10 February 2004, a Fokker F27 operated by Kish Airlines, crashed on approach to Sharjah, UAE, as a result of loss of control caused by selection of both propellers to the ground range in flight.

Event Details
When	February 2004
Actual or Potential Event Type	Airworthiness, Fire Smoke and Fumes, Human Factors, Loss of Control
Day/Night	Day
Flight Conditions	VMC

Flight Details
Aircraft	FOKKER F-27 Friendship
Operator	Kish Airlines
Domicile	Iran
Type of Flight	Public Transport (Passenger)
Origin	Kish International
Intended Destination	Sharjah International Airport
Take off Commenced	Yes
Flight Airborne	Yes
Flight Completed	No
Flight Phase	Descent
	ENR / APR

Location - Airport
Airport vicinity	Sharjah International Airport

General
Tag(s)	Non Precision Approach

FIRE
Tag(s)	Post Crash Fire

HF
Tag(s)	Inappropriate crew response - skills deficiency, Manual Handling, Procedural non compliance, Violation, Ineffective Monitoring - SIC as PF

LOC

Tag(s)

Loss of Engine Power, Flight Management Error, Flight Control Error"Flight Control Error" is not in the list (Airframe Structural Failure, Significant Systems or Systems Control Failure, Degraded flight instrument display, Uncommanded AP disconnect, AP Status Awareness, Non-normal FBW flight control status, Loss of Engine Power, Flight Management Error, Environmental Factors, Bird or Animal Strike, ...) of allowed values for the "LOC" property., Extreme Bank, Extreme Pitch

AW
System(s)

Outcome
Damage or injury	Yes
Aircraft damage	Hull loss
Injuries	Few occupants
Fatalities	Most or all occupants ()

Causal Factor Group(s)
Group(s)	Aircraft Operation

Safety Recommendation(s)
Group(s)	Aircraft Operation, Aircraft Airworthiness

Investigation Type
Type	Independent

Description

On 10 February 2004, a Fokker F27 operated by Kish Airlines, crashed on approach to Sharjah, UAE, as a result of loss of control caused by selection of both propellers to the ground range in flight.

Synopsis

This is an extract from the Aircraft Accident Report published by the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority:

"The aircraft involved was a Fokker F27 Mk.050, owned by the Kish Airlines, based at Ekbatan in the Islamic Republic of Iran… On this particular flight, IRK 7170, EP-LCA, was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Kish Island to Sharjah, UAE, and was approaching to land on runway 12 at Sharjah International Airport in good daylight visibility. The aircraft was observed to pitch down and suddenly turn to the left. The aircraft continued to descend and turn at high pitch and roll angles and impacted a sandy area within a residential area 2.6 nm from the runway threshold. Immediately a large explosion was seen. The aircraft was destroyed and there were 43 fatalities.

Cause

The report gives the cause of the accident as:

"The power levers were moved by a pilot from the flight idle position into the ground control range, which led to an irreversible loss of flight control."

and gives the following Contributory Causes:

• "By suddenly insisting the First Officer fly the final approach, the pilot in command created an environment, which led to a breakdown of crew resource management processes, the non observance of the operator’s standard operating procedures and a resultant excessive high approach speed.
• An attempt to rectify this excessive high approach speed most likely resulted in the non compliance with the Standard Operating Procedures and the movement of the power levers below flight idle."

Related Articles

LOC

• Loss of Control,
• Stall,

Further Reading

For further information see the full UAE GCAA Accident Report.