What happened
On August 24, an unscheduled flight departed from Blackbushe Airport, England, bound for Wadi Seidna, Khartoum, with a scheduled stop in Malta. The aircraft was carrying 51 passengers and 6 crew members. During the flight, at approximately 00:25 GMT, while positioned roughly 20 miles west of Trapani, the number 2 and number 3 engines exhibited abnormal behavior. In response, the crew shut down these two engines and feathered the propellers.
Following this action, the aircraft's electrical power was reduced to only battery power. Because the radio equipment had been used extensively to transmit emergency signals, the batteries became depleted. Subsequently, the remaining number 1 and number 4 engines also began to malfunction. At approximately 03:00 local time, the crew performed a ditching in the sea located between the Port of Trapani and the island of Formica. The accident resulted in four fatalities due to drowning, with two passengers and one flight attendant reported missing.
Findings
Investigations into the incident identified several contributing factors. While it was determined that only one of the inner engines failed spontaneously, the stoppage of the second inner engine was attributed to an error by the flight engineer. The following issues were also noted:
- The failure of electrical generators once the number 2 and 3 engines were deactivated.
- Insufficient battery capacity to maintain essential flight functions or effective distress communications.
- Inadequate training and limited experience of the crew and cabin staff regarding this specific aircraft type.
- Improper execution of emergency procedures, particularly by the cabin crew.
- The failure of lifebelts and the fact that life rafts were either not utilized or missing.
- Psychological factors related to the crew's awareness of a recent similar accident involving power-plant failure on the same model.