ASN Aircraft accident British Aerospace BAe-146-100 EC-GEO Melilla Airport (MLN)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Friday 25 September 1998
Time:07:50
Type:Silhouette image of generic B461 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
British Aerospace BAe-146-100
Operator:Paukn Air
Registration: EC-GEO
MSN: E1007
First flight: 1983-06-02 (15 years 4 months)
Engines: 4 Lycoming ALF502R-3A
Crew:Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Passengers:Fatalities: 34 / Occupants: 34
Total:Fatalities: 38 / Occupants: 38
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:15,3 km (9.6 mls) N of Melilla Airport (MLN) (   Morocco)
Crash site elevation: 270 m (886 feet) amsl
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Málaga Airport (AGP/LEMG), Spain
Destination airport:Melilla Airport (MLN/GEML), Spain
Flightnumber:4101
Narrative:
Paukn Air Flight 4101, a BAe-146 jet, took off from Malaga, Spain, at 07:25 hours local time for a flight across the Mediterranean Sea to the Spanish enclave Melilla on the Moroccan coast. Flight 4101 climbed to the cruising altitude of FL140. The copilot contacted ATC at Sevilla and received clearance to descend to FL70. Two minutes later the flight was further cleared to 5000 feet and the crew were instructed to contact Melilla Tower. The copilot reported to the Melilla Tower controller that they were 30 nm from the airport, descending to 5000 feet.
Melilla Tower then reported that runway 33 was in use and reported wind at 270 degrees at 5 knots, visibility 8 km with few clouds at 1000 feet. At 06:45 the copilot reported that they were at 22nm at an altitude of 3000 feet. By now they had descended below the MSA of 4000 feet. The descent was continued and the airplane crossed the coast line at about 1100 feet. In IMC conditions the flight descended over mountainous terrain. At 07:49:52 the GPWS alarm sounded "terrain, terrain". Dangerously close to terrain, at about 890 feet, the GPWS alarm sounded again "Whoop, whoop, Pull Up, Whoop, whoop, Pull Up". The airplane struck terrain at an elevation of 886 feet and broke up.

Probable Cause:

CONCLUSION: "Given the facts and analysis conducted, the Commission concluded that the accident was caused by a collision with terrain in IMC. This confirms the hypothesis put forward by members of the committee of investigation from the beginning of their investigations, it is a type of CFIT accident (collision with the ground without loss of control) due to a combination of several factors:
- Non-application of the arrival procedure, including descending below the minimum safe altitude;
- Inadequate crew coordination;
- Non-application of company procedures regarding GPWS alarm. "

Accident investigation:

cover
Investigating agency: MinTrans Morocco
Status: Investigation completed
Accident number: final report
Download report: Final report

Classification:
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain

Sources:
» ICAO Adrep Summary 6/98 (#20)


Follow-up / safety actions
Pauknair decided not to resume operations, which were suspended following the crash of one of their two BAe 146-100s near Melilla on 25 September 1998, and the departure of their second aircraft for heavy maintenance soon thereafter.

Photos

photo of BAe-146-100-EC-GEO
flight track to Melilla
photo of BAe-146-100-EC-GEO
accident date: 25-09-1998
type: BAe-146-100
registration: EC-GEO
 

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 Málaga Airport to Melilla Airport as the crow flies is 207 km (129 miles).
Accident location: Exact; as reported in the official accident report.

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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BAe-146

  • 391 built
  • 5th loss
  • 4th fatal accident
  • 3rd worst accident (at the time)
  • 5th worst accident (currently)
» safety profile

 Morocco
  • 9th worst accident (at the time)
  • 10th worst accident (currently)
» safety profile

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