Air Moorea Flight 1121

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Air Moorea Flight 1121
Air Moorea DHC-6 Twin Otter ( F-OIQI) on final approach into Papeete.jpg
F-OIQI, the aircraft involved in the crash, pictured in March 2007
Accident
Date9 August 2007
SummaryLoss of control due to deterioration and eventual breaking of a pitch control cable
Site1.5 km (0.9 mi; 0.8 nmi) off Moorea-Temae Airport (MOZ), French Polynesia
17°30′6″S 149°44′46″W / 17.50167°S 149.74611°W / -17.50167; -149.74611Coordinates: 17°30′6″S 149°44′46″W / 17.50167°S 149.74611°W / -17.50167; -149.74611
Aircraft
Aircraft typede Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
OperatorAir Moorea
RegistrationF-OIQI
Flight originMoorea-Temae Airport (MOZ/NTTM), French Polynesia
DestinationPapeete-Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT/NTAA)
Passengers19
Crew1
Fatalities20
Survivors0

Air Moorea Flight 1121 was a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter which crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff from Moorea Airport on Moorea Island in French Polynesia on 9 August 2007, killing all 20 people on board.

It was bound for Tahiti's Fa'a'ā International Airport on a regular 7-minute service, one of the shortest on earth, scheduled 40 to 50 times a day. The crash resulted from loss of control due to failure of the airplane's elevator cable.[1] Frequent takeoff and landing are believed to have been a major factor in the crash, because of wear and tear on the elevator cables, inspected only at fixed time intervals, regardless of usage. Another factor may have been jet-blast from large planes pushing back from the ramp at Fa'a'ā International.

Flight and crash[]

The aircraft, reg. F-OIQI was a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter built-in 1979. The airframe had been flying in more than 55,000 cycles in 30,800 hours before the crash. It was 28 years old at the time of the accident.

The pilot was 53-year-old French Polynesian Michel Santeurenne. Air Moorea flights generally required only a single pilot, and on 9 August Santeurenne was flying the short hop without any other crewmembers. He had completed over 3,500 hours of flight time, including 110 hours for Air Moorea since 14 May 2007. He had worked for Air Moorea for three months at the time of the accident.

The oft-traveled Moorea to Tahiti route is one of the shortest in the world – only a 7-minute flight on average – and is flown 40 to 50 times a day. On 9 August 2007, F-OIQI was the aircraft operating the short route. The aircraft took off without incident just past noon, and was climbing through 400 feet when, according to eyewitnesses, it suddenly nosed down without warning and dove into the ocean, killing all 20 onboard – 19 passengers and the pilot, Santeurenne.[2]

Investigation[]

As the islands are French territory, the accident was investigated by the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA). The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and parts of the airplane wreckage were recovered from a depth of 700 m (2,300 ft). Following analysis of the CVR and metallurgical testing of the parts, the BEA concluded: "The accident was caused by the loss of airplane pitch control following the failure, at a low height, of the elevator pitch-up control cable at the time the flaps were retracted.[1]

According to the accident investigation report, the elevator cable failure was primarily caused by two factors:[1]: 68–69 

  • Though more resistant to corrosion in the saline environment than the original carbon steel cables, the stainless steel cables that were present on this particular aircraft suffered greater wear from abrasion by the cable guides. There were no modifications made to the maintenance schedule to account for this added wear, nor the higher than usual number of cycles experienced by the aircraft on the high-frequency short flight it operated.[1]: 42–43 
  • The aircraft, while parked at Faa'a airport, was possibly subject to jet blast from large aircraft, causing stress on the cable. This would have been exaggerated by the procedure of locking the elevator in the pitch-down position when parked, capturing more of the blast than it would in a neutral position.[1]: 52–55 

Cultural references[]

The Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic TV series Mayday depicted the accident in a Season #13 episode, "Terror in Paradise", first aired on 27 Jan 2014. The episode featured interviews with witnesses and accident investigators, and a dramatization of the accident.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Accident on 9 August 2007 off the coast of Moorea (French Polynesia)" (PDF). Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety. May 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  2. ^ "All 20 Aboard Doomed Air Moorea Flight Feared Dead". Oceania Flash. 10 August 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 August 2007 – via Pacific Magazine.

External links[]

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