ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 28956
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| Date: | Friday 26 January 1990 |
| Time: | 01:04 LT |
| Type: |  Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 Marquise |
| Owner/operator: | Great Western Aviation Pty Ltd |
| Registration: | VH-MUA |
| MSN: | 746SA |
| Year of manufacture: | 1979 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 10 km N of Meekatharra, WA -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Perth, WA (PER/YPPH) |
| Port Hedland, WA (PHE/YPPD) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A spate of accidents involving Mitsubishi MU-2Bs occurred in Australia between 1988 and 1994, all caused by icing on the airframe which caused the airspeed to decrease to the point where each aircraft stalled and entered a spin. On 26 January 1990, an MU-2B-60 (VH-MUA) crashed 10 km north of Meekatharra, Western Australia. The pilot and one passenger were killed. The investigation of the crash of MU-2B VH-BBA at Leonora on 16 December 1988 was extended to include this crash given the same aircraft type crashed in similar circumstances.
According to the part of the ATSB report that was devoted to VH-MUA (Chapter 2 of the report):
"The aircraft had been chartered for a flight from Perth to Port Hedland. The pilot arrived at the aircraft at 22:10 hours on 25 January, and after a short inspection of the aircraft, attended the CAA flight planning office for air traffic control and meteorology briefing. The briefing included information about a tropical cyclone off the NW coast of Australia and its potential effects on the proposed flight. After the flight plan was submitted, the pilot returned to the aircraft at 23:15 hours as the loading was being completed, and conducted a pre-flight inspection of the aircraft and its load.
The aircraft departed Perth at 23:39 and commenced a climb towards Ballidu, the first turning point, over which it passed at 00:03 hours. Subsequently, the aircraft passed over Mount Singleton at 00:20, Mount Magnet at 00:40 and Meekatharra at 01:02 hours. After Ballidu, the aircraft climbed from FL 170 to FL 190 and climbed further to FL 210 after Mount Magnet.
While over Meekatharra, the passenger (also a licenced pilot) gave the position report. One minute later, the pilot radioed that the aircraft was out of control and descending. He called again 30 seconds later and advised that the aircraft was in ice and spinning down through 8000 feet. No further communications were received from the aircraft.
Twenty-three seconds later, at 01:05:10, the pilot of another aircraft in the area advised that he had witnessed the impact of the MU-2B. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and post·impact fire.
Sources:
1. ATSB: http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/1988/aair/aair198800143.aspx
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_MU-2#Incidents_and_accidents
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Sep-2008 01:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 04-Mar-2016 20:36 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Time, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 04-Mar-2016 20:37 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Operator] |
| 19-Aug-2017 12:16 | Aerossurance | Updated [Location, Source] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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