Aerolift AN12 at Luxor on Feb 20th 2009, engine fire
Last Update: March 28, 2020 / 18:55:06 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Feb 20, 2009
Classification
Crash
Cause
Engine fire
Aircraft Registration
ER-AXI
Aircraft Type
Antonov An-12
ICAO Type Designator
AN12
- Lack of available thrust which corresponded to the power of only two engines running during take off run
- Lack of authorized maintenance of the aircraft.
- The uncoordinated crew actions in the critical situation (both pilots had previously flown as captains). The lack of coordination is confirmed by the braking trails left by the main landing gear at the end of RWY-02, based on FCOM instructions, and in case of rejected takeoff attempt, the crew had to set the throttles to idle, lower the nose gear to reach the runway and then use the propellers for braking (releasing them from the stops). Also, to reduce the roll and to maintain the direction they were to use the nose wheel steering and wheel brakes as well as emergency braking if needed. Actually the crew did neither of the above procedures, except using the main wheel brakes.
The CAA reported the aircraft was conducting a ferry flight wit one engine inoperative and its associated propeller in the feathered position according to FCOM special requirements for one engine out departures (maximum takeoff weight 52 tons, flaps at 15 degrees required, heightened attention to the remaining three engines and their operation).
The aircraft attempted to depart runway 02 with flaps set at 25 degrees, at the end of the 3000 meters long runway the aircraft did not lift off however, rolled over sand drifting from the center line to the right, crossed a service road and impacted two houses in a military compound about 500 meters past the end of the runway. The aircraft came to a stop at position N25.6885 E32.7157.
The CAA reported the aircraft serial number 6344310 (former registration ER-AXI) had received a certificate to release to service until Apr 21st 2007, the then operator ceased operations on Jan 16th 2007 following an accident to their other aircraft. The aircraft was sold to a private person, the last certificate of airworthiness thus was valid until Apr 21st 2007. Moldova's CAA cancelled the registration of the aircraft in 2008, however, the aircraft kept flying.
On Nov 1st 2007 the aircraft suffered an engine fire, a defect in the wing and a defect in the landing gear in Kisangani (DR Congo). The aircraft was grounded.
In 2008 a new operator Inter Sky contacted Antonov and was told, the aircraft had not undergone the prolongation work needed to be released to service. A contract was reached between Antonov and Inter Sky to perform these maintenance actions required to return the aircraft to service.
On Jan 21st 2009 a temporary registration S9-SVN was acquired from Sao Tome valid until Feb 20th 2009. The registration was issued to Aero Lift.
A ferry permit was issued for the aircraft to operate from Kisangani to Mykolaiv (Ukraine) to carry out the maintenance work. The permit was issued to Aero Lift.
An insurance certificate was issued to Inter Sky covering also Aero Lift for 2 takeoffs and 2 landings from Entebbe to Kiev (Ukraine) with an intermediate stop in Luxor for refuelling, the insurance value was 10 million US$. The certificate was valid from Feb 12th 2009 to Feb 18th 2009.
The aircraft thus was on the leg from Entebbe (Uganda) to Luxor (Egypt) for a planned refuelling stop. The aircraft received 19,000 liters of fuel (about 14 tons) in addition to the 2 tons still on board, sufficient for 8 hours of flight to the Ukraine.
Following the failed departure the CAA described the engines:
engine #1 showed no anomaly except impact damage
engine #2 showed soot from the 5th stage on indicating the engine was in surge
engine #3 was running at the time of the accident and showed impact damage
engine #4 showed soot from the stage 2 on indicating the engine was not running during the accident
propeller #1 showed no anomaly except impact and post crash fire damage
propeller #2 had three blades in the feather position and clearly was not operating during the accident
propeller #3 was operating during the accident and received impact damage and post crash fire damage
propeller #4 was in ground idle mode during the accident
The CAA analysed that engines #1, #3 and #4 were in takeoff mode as the aircraft accelerated for departure. The required takeoff distance had been computed to 1760 meters.
The aircraft did not exceed about 150-170 kph (81 to 92 knots) at the end of the runway, the nose gear was rotated, the main gear was sitting on the ground however. Computations by Antonov determined that this was only possible if two engines were not working and two engines were working but not delivering full takeoff power. It was thus probable that engine #4 failed during the takeoff run, the propeller however did not feather. The CAA wrote: "After the signs of Engine 4 failure the crew most probably deactivated the stop on the propeller, reduced the engine rpm and continued the takeoff. This decision was incorrect, as having the takeoff weight of 57-60 tons with two engines inoperative the liftoff could not be made within the runway. The failure of Engine 4 is confirmed by the aircraft deviation to the right, as when the propeller is not feathered and the engine is on ground idle it leads to a significant braking moment which turns the aircraft into the direction of the failing engine."
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Feb 20, 2009
Classification
Crash
Cause
Engine fire
Aircraft Registration
ER-AXI
Aircraft Type
Antonov An-12
ICAO Type Designator
AN12
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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