ASN Aircraft accident Cessna 208B Grand Caravan ZS-OTU Windhoek-Eros Airport (ERS)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Sunday 15 November 2009
Time:06:58
Type:Silhouette image of generic C208 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
Operating for:Air Nave
Leased from:Aviation at Work
Registration: ZS-OTU
MSN: 208B0513
First flight: 1996
Engines: 1 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-114A
Crew:Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Passengers:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3
Total:Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 4
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:ca 1 km S of Windhoek-Eros Airport (ERS) (   Namibia)
Phase: Initial climb (ICL)
Nature:Cargo
Departure airport:Windhoek-Eros Airport (ERS/FYWE), Namibia
Destination airport:Ngiva Airport (NGV/FNGI), Angola
Narrative:
A Cessna 208B Grand Caravan turboprop plane, ZS-OTU, operating on a flight for Air Nave, was destroyed when it struck terrain shortly after takeoff from Windhoek-Eros Airport (ERS), Namibia. The pilot and two passengers were killed in the accident; one passenger survived.
The aircraft was carrying a cargo that included paint, building materials and foodstuff on a flight to Ngiva, Huambo and Luanda. The airplane failed to gain sufficient height after takeoff. It turned right, descended until it struck terrain and ploughed into some bushes.
The day before the accident cargo weighing about 810 kg was loaded into the aircraft by a handling agent, under the pilot's supervision. Before departure on the morning of November 15, though, additional cargo was loaded on board, along with the luggage of the passengers an pilot. These were not weighed. The additional cargo had been placed inside the cabin on top of and between seats, all the way to the roof of the plane without being secured.

Probable Cause:

The aircraft’s total weight at the time of take-off was 9691 pounds (4395 kg). The maximum certified take-off weight for this type of aircraft is 9062 pounds (4110 kg).
The pilot had made one fundamental error in his weight calculation, by using an incorrect empty aircraft weight of 4575 pounds (2075 kg), instead of the correct weight of 5174 pounds (2347 kg).
As a result, the aircraft’s maximum take-off weight was exceeded by 629 pounds (285 kg).
The aircraft failed to maintain flying speed and stalled shortly after take-off, rendering ground impact inevitable.
Inadequate oversight by the regulatory authority should be regarded as a significant contributory factor to this accident.

Classification:
Overloaded
Loss of control

Sources:
» Vliegongeluk by Windhoek (Republikein, 15-11-2009)
» Vliegramp eis drie (Republikein, 16-11-2009)
» Three die in city plane crash: Plummets to earth south of Eros Airport (The Namibian, 16-11-2009)
» Load caused fatal crash (The Namibian, 28-4-2010)


Photos

photo of Cessna-208B-Grand-Caravan-ZS-OTU
accident date: 15-11-2009
type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
registration: ZS-OTU
photo of Cessna-208B-Grand-Caravan-ZS-OTU
accident date: 15-11-2009
type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
registration: ZS-OTU
photo of Cessna-208B-Grand-Caravan-ZS-OTU
accident date: 15-11-2009
type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
registration: ZS-OTU
photo of Cessna-208B-Grand-Caravan-ZS-OTU
accident date: 15-11-2009
type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
registration: ZS-OTU
photo of Cessna-208B-Grand-Caravan-ZS-OTU
accident date: 15-11-2009
type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
registration: ZS-OTU
photo of Cessna-208B-Grand-Caravan-ZS-OTU
accident date: 15-11-2009
type: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
registration: ZS-OTU
 

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 Windhoek-Eros Airport to Ngiva Airport as the crow flies is 634 km (396 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of 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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