ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 27661
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| Date: | Friday 5 December 1980 |
| Time: | 14:45 LT |
| Type: |  Piper PA-31-350 Chieftain |
| Owner/operator: | Tanzania Aviation |
| Registration: | 5H-TAL |
| MSN: | 31-7652016 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Kambala Village, Mvomero Division, Morogoro -
 Tanzania
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Dodoma Airport, Dodoma, Tanzania (DOD/HTDO) |
| Dar es Salaam International Airport, Dar es Salaam (DAR/HTDA) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Crashed on a flat marshy plain at Kambala Village, Mvomero Division, Morogoro, while en route from Dodoma to Dar es Salaam in poor weather (thunderstorms). All ten persons on board (pilot and nine passengers) were killed. Aircraft is believed to have broken up in flight during a thunderstorm. One source states that the aircraft was on a "humanitarian" mission, flying in medical personnel and supplies.
Cause:
The accident was caused by midair disintegration owing to structure overload caused by diving speed in excess of the structural design limits. The rest of the fuselage and the remaining part of the empennage then floated downwards as the occupants were flung out of the cabin, some with the seats and seat rails.
Judging by the nature of the light ground impact damage to the various wreckage parts, it was concluded that the midair disintegration took place at approximately 4,000 feet above ground level and as supported by medical reports, the 8 occupants including the pilot, who was found strapped in his seat, were flung out of the cabin at a lower altitude. Two occupants were found trapped in the main wreckage. The engines, however, owing to their mass, had sufficient inertia to project themselves a longer distance than the rest of the wreckage and settled on location which confirmed the direction of flight, as well as the manner and the sequence in which they disintegrated from the aircraft.
Contributory Factors:
1) Penetration speed was not selected prior to entering thunderstorms.
2) Pilots disorientation in severe thunderstorms.
3) Overloading of the aircraft.
4) Unserviceable airborne weather radar in the aircraft.
Sources:
1. http://www.tcaa.go.tz/files/final%20report%209-80%20%20PA%2031-350%205H-TAL%20MVOMERO%20MOROGORO.pdf
2. http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1980/1980-61.htm
3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/heathrowjunkie/14394845106
4. [LINK NOT WORKING ANYMORE:http://www.baaa-acro.com/1980/archives/crash-of-a-piper-pa-31-navajo-chieftain-in-dar-es-salaam-10-killed/]
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 22-Aug-2010 05:26 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Other fatalities, Location, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 05-Dec-2011 12:18 | harro | Updated [Time, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-May-2015 00:37 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-May-2015 00:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-May-2015 00:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Embed code] |
| 26-Sep-2017 20:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 26-Sep-2017 20:27 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
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