Incident Overview

Date: Monday 3 September 1979
Aircraft Type: A‚rospatiale SN.601 Corvette
Owner/operator: Sterling Airways
Registration Number: OY-SBS
Location: 1 km SW off Nice-C“te d’Azur Airport (NCE) – ÿ France
Phase of Flight: Approach
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10
Component Affected: The aircraft’s left and right engines.The aircraft’s left and right engines.
Category: Accident
An A‚rospatiale SN.601 Corvette corporate jet crashed into the sea near Nice-C“te d’Azur Airport (NCE), France, resulting in the deaths of eight passengers and both crew members.An A‚rospatiale SN.601 Corvette corporate jet crashed into the sea near Nice-C“te d’Azur Airport (NCE), France, resulting in the deaths of eight passengers and both crew members.

Description

An A‚rospatiale SN.601 Corvette corporate jet, registration OY-SBS, operated by Sterling Airways from Denmark, was destroyed when it crashed into the sea near Nice-C“te d’Azur Airport (NCE), France. The eight passengers and both crew members were killed. Flight NB4133 departed Copenhagen on the day of the accident on a flight to Stockholm. Three passengers embarked and the flight continued to Coventry-Baginton Airport (CVT), UK. The airplane was refueled and another six passengers embarked. The flight departed at 14:30 and continued to Nice at an altitude of FL290. The descent for Nice was uneventful until 18:02 local time at FL200 when the airplane suffered a double engine fire. The crew reported an emergency and were cleared direct to Nice for an emergency landing. Nice Approach vectored the crew for an emergency landing at Nice runway 05. The airplane was on finals when it crashed into the sea about 1 km from the runway. CAUSES OF THE ACCIDENT: “The accident resulted from the impact of the aircraft at sea following a loss of control during the last turn, both engines being switched off. The final flame out of the left engine resulted from a mechanical failure of the accessory drive gearbox. The right engine could not be relit, and the causes of its definitive flame out remain undetermined.”

Primary Cause

Loss of control during a final turn, leading to a double engine fire. A mechanical failure of the accessory drive gearbox on the left engine caused the fire, while the right engine could not be relit.Loss of control during a final turn, leading to a double engine fire. A mechanical failure of the accessory drive gearbox on the left engine caused the fire, while the right engine could not be relit.

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