Air Philippines Flight 541
 An Air Philippines Boeing 737-200, similar to the crashed aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | April 19, 2000 |
| Summary | Pilot error leading to controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Samal, Davao del Norte 07°09′24″N 125°42′03″E / 7.15667°N 125.70083°ECoordinates: 07°09′24″N 125°42′03″E / 7.15667°N 125.70083°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-2H4 |
| Operator | Air Philippines |
| Registration | RP-C3010 |
| Flight origin | Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila, Philippines |
| Destination | Francisco Bangoy International Airport, Davao City, Philippines |
| Occupants | 131 |
| Passengers | 124 |
| Crew | 7 |
| Fatalities | 131 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Air Philippines Flight 541 was a scheduled domestic flight operated by Air Philippines from Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila to Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City. On April 19, 2000, the Boeing 737-2H4 crashed in Samal, Davao del Norte while on approach to the airport, killing all 124 passengers and 7 crew members. It remains the deadliest air disaster in the Philippines and the third deadliest accident involving the Boeing 737-200, after Mandala Airlines Flight 091, which crashed 5 years later, and Indian Airlines Flight 113.[1]
Aircraft[]
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-2H4, registration RP-C3010 and previously owned by Southwest Airlines as N50SW, was first delivered in February 1978 and was sold to Air Philippines 20 years later.
Accident[]
On April 19, 2000, Flight 541, with 131 passengers and crew, left Manila at about 5:30 AM, bound for Davao City. At Around 7 AM the Boeing was approaching runway 05 following an Airbus A330 operated by Philippine Airlines. When Flight 541 broke free from the clouds the crew observed that the A330 had not yet cleared the runway at which time they advised ATC a missed approach procedure would be performed. Flight 541 began to climb and re-entered the clouds. The correct procedure would have been to climb to 4,000 feet on instruments and circle around to pick up the glide slope. Instead the crew attempted to fly VFR in instrument conditions at a lower altitude. Flight 541 contacted a coconut tree about 500 feet above sea level, and crashed a few miles west of the airport.[2] The plane subsequently caught fire and disintegrated; there were no survivors.[3]
Aftermath[]
Villagers on the island said the plane was flying at low altitude and hit the top of a coconut tree, which knocked off part of its wing. They said it appeared the plane tried to pull up under full engine power, but failed and crashed. The plane disintegrated and caught fire when it came down in a coconut grove. Airport officials said skies were foggy at the time of the accident.[4]
Francisco Bangoy International Airport did not have full equipment for instrument landings at that time, and visual landings had been suspended several minutes before the crash.
References[]
- ^ "Air Philippines crash kills all 131 on board" (Archive). CNN. April 19, 2000. Retrieved on August 30, 2014.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-2H4 RP-C3010 Davao". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
- ^ "131 killed in Philippines' worst air crash". theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media Limited. April 2000. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
- ^ "Aftermath of Flight 541".
External links[]
- 2000 disasters in the Philippines
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 2000
- Aviation accidents and incidents in the Philippines
- Aviation accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain
- Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737 Original
- History of Davao del Norte
- April 2000 events in Asia