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| Date: | Tuesday 15 May 2018 |
| Time: | 08:20 |
| Type: |  Maule M-6-235C Super Rocket |
| Owner/operator: | Saudi Wildlife Authority (SWA) |
| Registration: | HZ-NC7 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Al-Khunfah Sanctuary, Tabuk -
 Saudi Arabia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Calibration/Inspection |
| Departure airport: | Al- Zawiyah station |
| Al- Zawiyah station | |
| Investigating agency: | AIB Saudi Arabia |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On 15 May 2018, at 06:05 local time of KSA, a single-engine Maule M7-235C light aircraft, registration number HZ-NC7, owned and operated by the Saudi Wildlife Authority (SWA), took off with two persons on board, the pilot flying (PF) along with a newly hired trainee pilot. The flight was on its first leg from the Aviation Department of the SWA based at Al Jouf Airport (OESK) to Al-Zawiyah station at Al-Khunfah Sanctuary. The mission was to take onboard SWA officials for an observation flight to track newly released animals at Al-Khunfah Sanctuary.
At 07:50, HZ-NC7 took off from Al- Zawiyah station with four occupants onboard. Approximately 30 minutes later, HZ-NC7 crashed while conducting its mission at low altitude flight. All four occupants were fatally injured and the aircraft was completely destroyed.
- The investigation revealed that the accident was most probably caused by the following factors:
(1) Overweight and unbalanced aircraft flying out of designed center of gravity envelope.
(2) Inadvertent setting of the fuel selector valve to “OFF” position leading to engine fuel starvation.
(3) A power-off stall at a low speed/height configuration.
Sources:
- AIB of Saudi Arabia.
https://www.facebook.com/SaudiGazette/posts/1707092086046301
http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/article/534944/SAUDI-ARABIA/4-die-in-light-plane-crash-in-Tabuk
https://www.al-madina.com/article/574002/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%81%D8%AD%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9/%D9%88%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%A9-4-%D8%A3%D8%B4%D8%AE%D8%A7%D8%B5-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%B7%D9%85-%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D9%86%D9%81%D8%A9
https://www.aib.gov.sa/en-us/Reports/AIB%20Annual%20Report%202019.pdf
Images:
Photo (c): AIB Saudi Arabia
Media:
وفاة أربعة أشخاص إثر سقوط طائرة تابعة للهيئة السعودية للحياة الفطرية بتبوك. pic.twitter.com/MELCupum95
— مكتب تحقيقات الطيران (@AIB_KSA) 15 mei 2018
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-May-2018 09:59 | gerard57 | Added |
| 15-May-2018 11:26 | gerard57 | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Source, ] |
| 15-May-2018 11:30 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 15-May-2018 11:30 | harro | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 15-May-2018 13:14 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Embed code, ] |
| 15-May-2018 13:15 | harro | Updated [Embed code, ] |
| 16-May-2018 08:23 | gerard57 | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Embed code, ] |
| 26-Jun-2021 20:31 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Photo, ] |
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