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PH-CHI, the aircraft involved in the accident, is seen here at Euroairport. (1979)
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Accident | |
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Date | 6 October 1981 |
Summary | Structural failure in severe turbulence[1]: 183 |
Site | near Moerdijk 51°42′N 4°31′E / 51.700°N 4.517°E / 51.700; 4.517 |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Fokker F-28-4000 |
Aircraft name | Eindhoven |
Operator | NLM CityHopper |
Registration | PH-CHI |
Flight origin | Rotterdam Airport |
Stopover | Eindhoven Airport |
Destination | Hamburg Airport |
Passengers | 13 |
Crew | 4 |
Fatalities | 17 (all) |
Survivors | 0 |
NLM CityHopper Flight 431 refers to a Fokker F-28-4000, registration PH-CHI, that was due to operate an international scheduled Rotterdam–Eindhoven–Hamburg passenger service. On 6 October 1981, the aircraft encountered severe weather on the first leg, minutes after taking off from Rotterdam Airport, and crashed 15 miles (24 km) south-southeast of Rotterdam. All 17 occupants of the aircraft – 13 passengers and crew of 4 – perished in the accident.[1]: 183 [2]
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Fokker F28-4000, registration PH-CHI, that was built in 1979 with c/n 1141. At the time of the accident the airframe had accumulated 4,485 flight hours and 5,997 cycles.[2]
During the weather briefing 44 minutes before takeoff, the crew was apprised to an area of strong thunderstorms with 3/8 (37.5%) sky coverage of cumulonimbus at a base of 1,200 feet (370 m), south-southwest winds 15 to 25 knots (28 to 46 km/h; 17 to 29 mph) strong, and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) visibility at Rotterdam Airport.[2] The aircraft took off at 5:04 p.m. CET (UTC +1) from Rotterdam Airport.[2] The crew noted heavy rain in thunderstorms on the airplane's weather avoidance radar at 5:09 p.m., receiving clearance to avoid the area.[2] At 5:12 p.m. the aircraft entered a tornado while flying through clouds.[2] The weather system the aircraft entered into was apparently the same "tornado-like" system that Zeeland locals described as being responsible for considerable property damage.[3] Meteorologically, these vortices are indeed tornadoes, and the disintegrating airliner was seen exiting cloud cover. A police officer first photographed the tornado, then smoke from the burning plane a few minutes later. An investigation concluded that a sharp increase in altitude registered on the altimeter was not a change in altitude, rather a pressure drop associated with the tornado.[4][5]
Stresses experienced by the airframe owing to severe turbulence resulted in loads of +6.8 g and −3.2 g causing the starboard wing to detach.[2][6] The aircraft spun down into the ground from 3,000 ft (910 m), crashing some 400 m (1,300 ft) from a Shell chemical plant on the southeastern outskirts of Moerdijk.[3] All 17 occupants of the aircraft perished in the accident.[2]
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1981 (1981)
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Mar 2 Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326 Mar 28 Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206 May 2 May 7 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 901 Jun 14 Jun 26 Jul 18 Jul 20 Jul 27 Jul 31 Panamanian Air Force Twin Otter crash Aug 9 1981 Barrington Tops Cessna 210 disappearance Aug 13 Aug 19 Aug 22 Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103 Aug 24 Aug 26 Sep 18 Zheleznogorsk mid-air collision Sep 22 Sep 29 Oct 6 Nov 8 Nov 17 Dec 1 | |