What happened
The incident occurred during a night departure from Singapore-Seletar Airport. Shortly after lifting off, the aircraft was in the initial climb phase, reaching an altitude of approximately 200 feet. At this stage, power was lost on both engines located on the left side of the fuselage. The aircraft was carrying a heavy load and traveling at low airspeed when it entered a stall condition. Unable to recover, the plane descended and impacted the waters of the Seletar River. The crash resulted in the destruction of the airframe. A total of thirteen occupants were killed, while eight others sustained injuries.
Findings
Investigations into the event identified crew coordination issues as a primary factor. Specifically, the flight engineer inadvertently reduced power settings on both left engines during the critical initial climb phase. This action led to the loss of thrust required to maintain lift at low speeds, causing the aircraft to stall and crash.