6th of June 2009, hard landing, Blog #747

A Fokker F28 Fellowship 4000 (msn 1111 4, built in 1977), powered by two

Rolls-Royce Spey 555-15P engines, was operating a domestic flight between Yangon-Mingaladon Airport and Sittwe Civil Airport in the Republic of Myanmar on this day in aviation history in 2009. On board the aircraft were 6 crew members and 62 passengers.

The aircraft in its final position (Source: baaa-acro.com © Unknown)

A NOTAM (Notice to Airmen – alerts pilots of potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the flight) was active for Runway 11 at Sittwe Airport on this day. It alerted the crew to the following:

• Unserviceable runway threshold and edge lighting.

• VASIS being inoperative (VASIS = Visual Approach Slope Indicator System). Click here for more information on Visual Glideslope Indicators.

Reportedly, the approach was flown in bad weather.

A hard touchdown on Runway 11 caused the right-hand main landing gear to collapse. This resulted in the wing striking the runway and becoming partially separated from the aircraft.

Due to the resulting drag, the crew was unable to maintain control of the aircraft, and it veered off the runway and crossed a ditch.

A close-up of the damaged nose section (Source: baaa-acro.com © Unknown)

This resulted in the left-hand main landing gear and the nose landing gear being ripped off the aircraft.

After hitting some trees, theaircraft came to a stop after partially sliding through a fence.

Three of the occupants received minor injuries, one of whom was the captain.

Close-up of the damaged right-hand wing (Source: baaa-acro.com © Unknown)

The damage to the aircraft was so extensive that it was written off. However, that was not the end of it useful life for the aircraft. After recovery the aircraft was patched up and was used as the "Cafe'Flight" bar of the Sky Palace hotel in NayPyiTaw, the capital of Myanmar!

The "Cafe'Flight" bar, November 2017, © Jacques Vooren

The "Cafe'Flight" bar, February 2018, © Andy Davey

Editorial Note

V2 Aviation – Training & Maintenance has not been able to obtain an official investigation report on this accident. This blog is therefore based on several internet sources. Should there be any inconsistencies in this article, please do not hesitate to contact us.

There are two ways to do so: via the comments section at the bottom of this page or through the contact page on our website.