Incident Overview

Date: Wednesday 24 April 1996
Aircraft Type: Reims Cessna F406 Caravan II
Owner/operator: Tanzanair – Tanzania Air Services
Registration Number: 5H-TZD
Location: Palapala hills, Morogoro – ÿ Tanzania
Phase of Flight: Approach
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Component Affected: AircraftAircraft
Category: Accident
On April 24, 1996, a charter flight from Dar es Salaam to Tabora via Morogoro crashed near the Palapala Mountains. The aircraft, piloted by the only occupant, was cleared to fly Level 60 to the TMA boundary. The pilot estimated the terrain to be 04:41, and revised the Morogoro arrival time to 04:51, instructing a ‘top of descent’. The wreckage was discovered on May 5, 1996, after extensive search, indicating a collision with high ground. The accident was caused by the aircraft colliding with high ground in bad weather, resulting in complete destruction.On April 24, 1996, a charter flight from Dar es Salaam to Tabora via Morogoro crashed near the Palapala Mountains. The aircraft, piloted by the only occupant, was cleared to fly Level 60 to the TMA boundary. The pilot estimated the terrain to be 04:41, and revised the Morogoro arrival time to 04:51, instructing a ‘top of descent’. The wreckage was discovered on May 5, 1996, after extensive search, indicating a collision with high ground. The accident was caused by the aircraft colliding with high ground in bad weather, resulting in complete destruction.

Description

On 24 April 1996 at 04:18 hours the aircraft took off from Dar es salaam International Airport on a charter flight to Tabora via Morogoro. The pilot was the only occupant. The estimated time of arrival at Morogoro was 04:49 hours. 5H-TZD maintained communications with the Dar es Salaam Tower and was cleared to flight Level 60 to the TMA boundary. At 04:40 hours 5H-TZD advised that he was estimating TMA at 04:41 hours at FL60. The estimate for Morogoro was revised to 04:51 hours and was to call on “top of descent”. No further transmission was heard from the aircraft. The wreckage of the aircraft was discovered top of Palapala Mountains (Uluguru Mountain Range) on 5 May 1996 after extensive search. The aircraft was completely destroyed by impact and the subsequent fire. It is concluded that the accident was caused by the aircraft colliding with high ground approximately 5 N.M. short of the runway. The decision of the pilot to initiate descent in weather conditions which allowed no visual contact with the high terrain was the major contributory factor. CAUSE: “The accident was caused by the aircraft colliding with high ground in bad weather.”

Primary Cause

Aircraft collision with high ground in bad weatherAircraft collision with high ground in bad weather

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