Accident Overview
On 23 October 2000, a Cessna P210N crashed into Lake Victoria near Entebbe, Uganda, at 17:07 UTC. The aircraft was destroyed, and all five occupants sustained fatal injuries. No third-party damage was reported.
Flight History
The flight originated from Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, destined for Entebbe, Uganda, under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) with four passengers and the pilot. After approximately two hours of flight, as the aircraft approached the destination airport, it was night. Below a cloud base of 2000 ft, visibility was good in calm air. At a distance of 15 NM, the pilot reported from an altitude of 7000 ft MSL that he had the airport in sight. The Cessna was then cleared for a visual approach to runway 35.
Accident and Recovery
The high-wing aircraft crashed at the end of the right downwind leg into Lake Victoria. A search and rescue operation was initiated immediately. The wreckage was recovered from a water depth of 10 meters after five days.
Conclusion
The foreign investigating authority concluded that the accident was caused by the pilot's lack of qualification for performing instrument approaches or visual approaches at night. They expressed doubt about the accuracy of his report that he had the active runway in sight during the approach. The accident probably resulted from spatial disorientation of the pilot during a turn in the traffic pattern at low altitude.
Recommendations
The investigating authority recommended that aircraft operators, within the framework of their Air Operator Certificate (AOC), pay attention to the qualification of their crews and to maintenance work on the aircraft. They also recommended that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Uganda be adequately informed about crew qualifications and operations, as well as maintenance work on foreign-registered aircraft in Uganda. Furthermore, they recommended that the CAA Uganda monitor the operation of voice communication recording systems more regularly, despite automatic error monitoring. Finally, they advised that pilots without IFR or night flying ratings should plan their flights only during daytime.