ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 8Q-TMF Malé-Velana International Airport (MLE)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Monday 5 October 2020
Time:06:58
Type:Silhouette image of generic DHC6 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300
Operator:Trans Maldivian Airways
Registration: 8Q-TMF
MSN: 657
First flight: 1979-12-05 (40 years 11 months)
Total airframe hrs:36906
Cycles:74153
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-27
Crew:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4
Total:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Location:Malé-Velana International Airport (MLE) (   Maldives)
Phase: Landing (LDG)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Vommuli Water Aerodrome, Maldives
Destination airport:Malé-Velana International Airport (MLE/VRMM), Maldives
Flightnumber:2955
Narrative:
A Trans Maldivian Airways float-equipped DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 sustained serious damage during landing Malé-Velana International Airport, Maldives. One flight crew and one cabin crew member received minor injuries.
The aircraft and crew had stayed overnight at Vommuli and departed at 06:14 on a flight back to the main base at Malé-Velana International Airport. The captain was Pilot Flying.
Taxi-out, take-off, cruise, approach and until touch down at MLE all were normal and uneventful. Light rain was encountered during the approach and the captain stated that he used windshield wipers. At the time of approach for landing the wind was 180 degrees/ 20 knots as given by the ATC.
The aircraft landed on water runway designated “North Right”. About two seconds after the initial touch down the aircraft rapidly banked/rolled to about 60 degrees to the right, the right wing digging into water and the left wing high in the air. The aircraft veered to the right, making a U-turn.
Immediately after the U-turn the left wing abruptly dropped which resulted in the left wing and left-hand engine propeller blades impacting the water heavily causing damage to the wing and the propeller blades.

The captain who was the PF had been operating DHC-8 (land planes) for a long period prior to reconverting to DHC-6 (floatplane) beginning January 2020. It took 60.38 hours for him to be finally released for line flying. This is more than the operator’s standard 25 hours required for a PIC to be released for line flying.
Following release to the Line Flying, like many others, the PIC did not have the opportunity to undertake flying primarily due to lack of air transportation activities resulting from the lockdown imposed in the country to control spread of Covid-19 virus. He had only 37.5 hours of flying during the last 90 day period prior to the accident flight.

Probable Cause:

Causes / Contributing Factors:
a) Loss of control on landing;
b) Varying crosswind conditions during landing;
c) Lack of practice or experience (change of motor skills) of the PIC for landing floatplanes.

Accident investigation:

cover
Investigating agency: AICC Maldives
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 years
Accident number: 2020/03
Download report: Final report

Classification:
Loss of control

Sources:
» aviatorsmaldives.com
» AICC Maldives Preliminary Report


Follow-up / safety actions

AICC Maldives issued 2 Safety Recommendations

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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 Vommuli Water Aerodrome to Malé-Velana International Airport as the crow flies is 159 km (100 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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DHC-6 Twin Otter

  • 930+ built
  • 283rd loss
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 Maldives
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