Incident Overview

Date: Sunday 7 February 1999
Aircraft Type: Boeing 707-328C
Owner/operator: Avistar
Registration Number: 9G-ROX
Location: Bratislava-Ivanka Airport (BTS) – ÿ Slovakia
Phase of Flight: Take off
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7
Component Affected: Boeing 707 freighter, specifically the engines, CSD gearbox, fuel tank gauges, and leading edge.Boeing 707 freighter, specifically the engines, CSD gearbox, fuel tank gauges, and leading edge.
Category: Accident
Narrative
On June 1998, a Boeing 707 freighter leased to a Belgian charter broker was involved in an accident. The aircraft was spotted at multiple airports, including Bratislava, Ostrava, and Lumumbashi, and exhibited a significant number of faults, including a limited EGT, a malfunctioning CSD gearbox, a missing CSD generator, a cracked left wing leading edge, a leaking fuel tank gauge, and engine failures. The aircraft was scheduled to fly to N’Djamena on February 7th, where it experienced a takeoff roll failure, resulting in it overrunning the runway and crashing 200 meters past the end. The incident highlights a combination of mechanical failures and operational errors.On June 1998, a Boeing 707 freighter leased to a Belgian charter broker was involved in an accident. The aircraft was spotted at multiple airports, including Bratislava, Ostrava, and Lumumbashi, and exhibited a significant number of faults, including a limited EGT, a malfunctioning CSD gearbox, a missing CSD generator, a cracked left wing leading edge, a leaking fuel tank gauge, and engine failures. The aircraft was scheduled to fly to N’Djamena on February 7th, where it experienced a takeoff roll failure, resulting in it overrunning the runway and crashing 200 meters past the end. The incident highlights a combination of mechanical failures and operational errors.

Description

The owner of the Boeing 707 freighter had leased the aircraft to a Belgian charter broker around June 1998 to operate fish charter flights between Mwanza and Vienna. The aircraft was in fact seen on many other airports, Bratislava, Ostrava, and Lumumbashi for instance. At the time of the accident the plane is understood to have had a long list of 32 faults that needed urgent repair. Problems included a limited EGT of no. 1 and 4 engines; no. 3 engine constant speed drive (CSD) gearbox was consuming a ‘massive amount of oil’; no. 1 engine CSD generator missing; no. 2 engine required bleed on takeoff and above FL330; left wing leading edge cracked and leaking; no. 4 fuel tank and reserve tank gauge not working. On February 7 the plane was to fly to N’Djamena. During the takeoff roll the no. 2 and 3 engines failed. The takeoff was aborted, but the 707 overran the runway and came to rest 200 m past the runway end.

Primary Cause

Multiple mechanical failures and operational errors, including a combination of engine faults, a malfunctioning CSD gearbox, and a lack of critical system functionality.Multiple mechanical failures and operational errors, including a combination of engine faults, a malfunctioning CSD gearbox, and a lack of critical system functionality.

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