What happened
During a scheduled test flight following maintenance procedures, an aircraft departed from Singapore-Changi Airport carrying a total of seven people, including three pilots and four engineers. Shortly after the departure, the pilot contacted air traffic control to request clearance to ascend to an altitude of 4,000 feet.
Communication with the aircraft was lost only seconds after this request. The plane subsequently impacted the ocean approximately 8 km south of the airport. Search efforts recovered some debris from the water, but it was confirmed that all seven fatalities occurred during the impact. No distress signals were transmitted by the crew before the loss of contact.
Findings
Investigations into the crash highlighted that the flight was operating amidst severe weather conditions, characterized by active thunderstorms, lightning, and significant turbulence. It is suspected that a lightning strike may have impacted the aircraft during its flight phase.