ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-47A-35-DL (DC-3) OH-LCA Mariehamn Airport (MHQ)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Friday 8 November 1963
Time:16:59 UTC
Type:Silhouette image of generic DC3 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Douglas C-47A-35-DL (DC-3)
Operator:Aero OY
Registration: OH-LCA
MSN: 9799
First flight: 1943
Total airframe hrs:30672
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92
Crew:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3
Passengers:Fatalities: 20 / Occupants: 22
Total:Fatalities: 22 / Occupants: 25
Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
Location:1,5 km (0.9 mls) N of Mariehamn Airport (MHQ) (   Finland)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Turku Airport (TKU/EFTU), Finland
Destination airport:Mariehamn Airport (MHQ/EFMA), Finland
Flightnumber: 217
Narrative:
Flight 217 operated on a Helsinki-Turku-Mariehamn flight and left Turku (TKU) at 16:20 GMT. The last leg of the flight was carried out at an altitude of 2000 feet. At 16:57 the crew reported over the MAR NDB on the inbound track to runway 20. During the approach the aircraft struck trees in a nearly horizontal attitude 1470 m before the threshold of the runway. The plane flipped over and caught fire.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The Board considered that the ultimate cause of the accident was the pilot's misconception of his altitude. It was impossible to determine whether this was due to a wrong indication of the altimeter or human error. The defect, found in the pilot-in-command's altimeter, was regarded however as sufficient to have brought a wrong indication of the altitude which the pilot could not foresee. The cause of the accident was therefore established as follows: As a result of a wrong indication of the aircraft's pilot's altimeter during an instrument approach carried out in weather conditions worse than the weather approved for runway 20 at Mariehamn, the aircraft came below the safe flying altitude and hit trees on the approach line."

Accident investigation:

cover
Investigating agency: CoI Finland
Status: Investigation completed
Accident number: final report
Download report: Final report

Classification:

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Ground

Sources:
» ICAO Accident Digest No.15 - Volume II, Circular 78-AN/66 (201-207)


Photos

photo of Douglas-C-47A-OH-LCA
accident date: 08-11-1963
type: Douglas C-47A (DC-3)
registration: OH-LCA
photo of Douglas-C-47A-OH-LCA
accident date: 08-11-1963
type: Douglas C-47A (DC-3)
registration: OH-LCA
 

Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Turku Airport to Mariehamn Airport as the crow flies is 136 km (85 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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Douglas DC-3

  • ca 13.000 built
  • 3667th loss
  • 1440th fatal accident
  • 128th worst accident (at the time)
  • 177th worst accident (currently)
» safety profile

 Finland
  • 2nd worst accident
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