AN72, Sao Tome, Sao Tome & Principe, 2017

AN72, Sao Tome, Sao Tome & Principe, 2017

Summary

On 29 July 2017, an Antonov AN-74 crew sighted several previously unseen large  eagles rising from the long grass next to the runway as they accelerated for takeoff at Sao Tome and, concerned about the risk of ingestion, made a high speed rejected takeoff but were unable to stop on the runway and entered a deep ravine just beyond it which destroyed the aircraft. The Investigation found that the reject had been unnecessarily delayed until above V1, that the crew forgot to deploy the spoilers which would have significantly increased the stopping distance and that relevant crew training was inadequate.

Description

On 29 July 2017, an Antonov AN-74TK-100 (UR-CKC) being operated by CAVOK Airlines on a non-scheduled international positioning flight from Sao Tome to Accra as CVK 7087 overran the departure runway in normal day visibility after the crew attempted a high speed rejected takeoff following the sighting of multiple large birds ahead and ended up in a ravine just beyond the end of the runway and was destroyed by impact forces. One of the six occupants sustained a minor injury, the others were uninjured.

The wrecked aircraft in its final stopping position after the excursion. (Reproduced from the Official Report)

Investigation

An Accident Investigation was carried out by the Banjul Accord Group Accident Investigation Agency (BAGAIA) after the State of Occurrence, Sao Tome & Principe, delegated the entire investigation to BAGAIA which is the Regional Accident Investigation Authority. Both the FDR and the CVR were removed from the aircraft and their data was successfully downloaded.

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