Status:	Final
Date:	13 JAN 2000
Time:	14:38
Type:	Shorts 360-300
Operating for:	Sirte Oil Company
Leased from:	Avisto
Registration:	HB-AAM
C/n / msn:	SH.3763
First flight:	1990-01-06 (10 years )
Total airframe hrs:	7138
Engines:	2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67R
Crew:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 3
Passengers:	Fatalities: 21 / Occupants: 38
Total:	Fatalities: 22 / Occupants: 41
Airplane damage:	Written off
Airplane fate:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:	5 km (3.1 mls) off Marsa el-Brega (Libya)
Phase:	Approach (APR)
Nature:	Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:	Tripoli International Airport (TIP/HLLT), Libya
Destination airport:	Marsa el-Brega Airport (LMQ/HLMB), Libya

Narrative:
The Shorts 360 plane had been leased to Sirte Oil Co in Libya to transport workers between its headquarters and various oil fields.
The aircraft departed Tripoli at 12:29. En route to Marsa el-Brega the crew noted a fuel imbalance and did a cross feed until fuel was balanced again at 14:17. The descent from FL70 was started at 14:25. Eleven minutes later both engines flamed out. The aircraft was ditched off the Libyan coast in a 10deg nose up attitude. The tail broke off and the wreckage sank inverted to a depth of 38m, about 3 miles from the coast.
According to the Libyan investigation report, the first officer and co-pilot, who both survived, were so busy talking about how to fly the Fokker F-28 aircraft that they failed to switch on the anti-icing system for the engines as weather conditions deteriorated. As the aircraft came in to land, ice that had been allowed to build up melted, flooding the engines and cutting off the power. A device that might have restarted the engines was not switched on. There were no lifejackets on board and many of the dead drowned because they were unaware that their seat cushions doubled as floats.

PROBABLE CAUSES:
- "melting of ice formed at engines intake resulted in ware ingestion and both engine flame out.
- flight crew failed to operate engine anti-icing system.
- flight crew were busy with a discussion not relevant to their flight or the a/c."

Events:

Sources: