Paukn Air BAe 146-100 Crash

A Paukn Air BAe 146-100 flying between Málaga and Melilla crashed in a mountainous area north of Melilla on the morning of Friday, 25 September 1998, killing all 38 on board.

The aircraft was on approach to Melilla airport when she disappeared from air traffic controllers' radar screens just after 9am local time (0700Z). She crashed in an unpopulated, mountainous area about 12 km from the airport, in Moroccan territory. At the time of the crash, the aircraft was in radio communication with Melilla Airport, but under radar control from Málaga, since Melilla has no radar equipment.

The BAe 146-100, msn E1007 registered EC-GEO, was carrying 34 passengers and 4 crew members. The flight crew was composed of Captain Diego Clavero Muñoz and first officer Fernando Bartolomé. Four of the passengers were Moroccan, the rest were Spanish. Most passengers were members of the Spanish Civil Guard stationed in Melilla; three were officers in the Spanish Army.

The aircraft had taken off from Málaga's Pablo Picasso Airport at 0825am local time (0625Z), operating Paukn Air flight 4101. The last communication with the aircraft was at 0855am local (0655Z), when the crew indicated they were initiating their approach to Melilla airport. They did not report any problems. Shortly after this communication, radar contact was lost with the aircraft.

The aircraft crashed in a mountainous area near the Cap des Trois Fourches, at an altitude of about 650m above sea level. The wreckage of the aircraft was broken in three main pieces.


Top: Pauknair flight 4101 departed Málaga at 0825 local time for the 200km trip to Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the North African coast.
Right: The aircraft was on approach to Melilla's runway 15 when it crashed on a mountainside near Cap des Trois Fourches, at about 650masl.

The cause of the crash has yet to be determined. None of the radio communications with the aircraft indicated any problems. Paukn Air suggested that the light fog experienced in the area at the time of the crash might have been a factor, although overall weather conditions were favorable. The accident aircraft is said to have cancelled a flight on Monday 21 September because of engine problems, but there is as yet no reason to believe this was related to the accident. The aircraft's two black boxes have been recovered. Some are pointing to deficiencies in the airport's equipment, which consists solely of a Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) and Distance Measuring Equipment (DME).

The bodies of all 38 victims have been recovered.

Paukn Air

Paukn Air was formed in 1995 to operate services from Melilla, a Spanish-ruled enclave in north Africa, to Almería, Madrid, and Málaga on the Spanish mainland. The Paukner Group, a Spanish company with extensive interests in the travel industry, held 80 percent of the airline, with the balance held by Melillian private interests and by the Melillian governing Council. Although the marketing name Melilla Jet was adopted, the aircraft carried Paukn Air titles in deference to Moroccan sensitivity to use of the name Melilla. Two BAe 146-100s were leased for three years from British Aerospace Asset Management Organization (BAe-AMO). The aircraft are operated under the operating certificate of Pan-Air, another Spanish airline in which the Paukner Group holds an interest, and which also operates cargo BAe 146s on behalf of TNT. Paukn Air has enjoyed considerable success, and commanded about 60 percent of the Melillian air travel market. The original route from Melilla to Málaga grew until it was operated on a shuttle basis, and additional routes linked Melilla daily with Málaga, Almería, Madrid, and Barcelona, and weekly with Santiago de Compostela, Santander, and Palma de Mallorca. Paukn Air also flew a once-weekly service from Madrid to Santa Cruz de la Palma. In 1987, 250,000 passengers were carried.

Paukn Air received its first aircraft, BAe 146-100 msn E1015 EC-GEP, on 19 September 1995. Paukn's second aircraft, BAe 146-100 msn E1007 EC-GEO, was delivered on 22 September. Both were configured with 86 seats in a single-class configuration. They each operated around 3,000 cycles a year. The leases on both aircraft had been renewed just before the accident.

The company suspended its flights following the crash, since its second 146 was in England for regularly-scheduled maintenance. The company eventually decided not to resume operations, and returned its remaining 146 to BAe-AMO.

EC-GEO

The BAe 146-100 that crashed near Málaga was msn E1007, registered EC-GEO. This aircraft was built at Hatfield in 1983, making its first flight on 2 June 1983. She was delivered to Dan-Air London as G-BKHT on 18 June, the second of two BAe 146-100s ordered by the airline. She continued to operate with Dan-Air until 7 July 1992, when she was returned to BAe in part payment for newer series 300s. E1007 was then stored until 1995, when she was leased to Paukn Air, initially for a three-year period. After refurbishment at Southend, she was delivered to Paukn Air on 22 September 1995, with delivery registration EC-969. She was later re-registered EC-GEO. The lease on EC-GEO and its companion, E1015 EC-GEP, was renewed on 24 September 1998, the day before the aircraft crashed.

Paukn Air BAe 146-100 EC-GEO

Paukn Air BAe 146-100 EC-GEO, seen at Barcelona in July 1997 (Jordi Grife)

Previous BAe 146 fatal accidents

Since entering service in 1983, there have been three previous BAe 146 fatal accidents:

PSA BAe 146-200A N350PS (E2027) crashed near Paso Robles, California, on 7 December 1987, after a disgruntled former USAir employee killed his former supervisor, who was on board the aircraft, and then killed both pilots. All 38 passengers and 5 crewmembers were killed.
LAN Chile BAe 146-200A CC-CET (E2061) over-ran the runway at Punta Arenas del Campo, Chile, and ended up submerged in water. 20 of the 66 passengers on board died, but the rest and the 7 crewmembers were able to escape.
China Northwest Airlines BAe 146-300 B-2716 (E3215) crashed on take-off at Yinchuan, China, on 23 July 1993. The flaps had not been extended, and the aircraft failed to become airborne, hitting an embankment at the end of the runway and coming to rest in shallow water. 54 passengers (of 108 on board) and 1 crewmember (of 5 on board) were killed.

There have been no fatal accidents involving the BAe 146's successor, the Avro RJ family, but THY Avro RJ100 TC-THF (E3240) was damaged beyond economic repair in a runway over-run at Samsum on 11 January 1998, fortunately with only minor injuries to the crew.

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