What happened
On December 18, 1977, at approximately 20:14 GMT, a SE-210 Super Caravelle, registration HB-ICK, operated by SATA, impacted the sea roughly 4 km from the start of runway 06 at Funchal Airport, Madeira. The flight, designated as a route check, was traveling from Geneva to Funchal.
During the approach, the crew intended to perform a full NDB instrument approach for training purposes. While executing the procedure, the aircraft transitioned from the downwind leg to the base leg. The pilots reported descending to 650 ft, and subsequently to 600 ft, in an attempt to avoid overshooting the relatively short runway. Shortly after the base turn, the aircraft struck the water. The impact caused the airframe to break apart, and the cabin was rapidly flooded. While the two pilots managed to escape the wreckage through the cockpit windows, the accident resulted in 17 fatalities among the passengers and crew.