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| Date: | Friday 16 December 1988 |
| Time: | 10:15 |
| Type: |  Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 Marquise |
| Owner/operator: | Broughton Air Services P/L |
| Registration: | VH-BBA |
| MSN: | 782SA |
| Year of manufacture: | 1980 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 55 km WNW of Leonora, WA -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Bellevue Goldmine, Leinster, WA |
| Kargoorlie Airport, WA (KGI) | |
| Investigating agency: | BASI |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Crashed at Sturt Meadows Station, 55 km WNW of Leonora Airfield, Western Australia, between Leonora and Meekatharra, at approximate co-ordinates Latitude 28°48' S, Longitude 120'43' E. The pilot and nine passengers were killed and the aircraft was destroyed by the impact and a subsequent fire.
The ATSB report concludes that the aircraft probably accrued icing on the airframe, which caused the airspeed to decrease to the point where the aircraft stalled and entered a spin; and that the pilot did not become aware of the decreasing airspeed in time to take action to prevent loss of control
The crash of VH-BBA was the worst air accident in Western Australia for 20 years, killing all 10 aboard, and worst MU-2 crash in the world, in terms of number of fatalities. The ATSB report notes that there was a "Death Threat" made against one of the passengers, but dismissed this as a factor, stating that there was no evidence that the aircraft had been sabotaged or tampered with.
The crash of VH-BBA was the first of a spate of accidents - four in all - involving MU-2s that occurred in Australia between 1988 and 1994, all caused by icing on the airframe which caused the airspeed to decrease to the point where each aircraft stalled and entered a spin. Three of the four crashes resulted in fatalities.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/1988/aair/aair198800143.aspx
3. http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/1537356/aair198800143.pdf
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 15-Sep-2013 17:22 | wf | Updated [Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 11-Apr-2014 04:51 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 04-Aug-2017 08:10 | TB | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
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