REPUBLIC OF KENYA

MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT

DEPARTMENT OF AIR ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION

P.O. Box 52696 Nairobi

Telephone: 254-20-2729200 Fax: 254-20-2737320

CIVIL AIRCRAFT INCIDENT REPORT

CAV/INC/AUC/06

OPERATOR: BLUE NILE AVIATION (E.A.) LIMITED

AIRCRAFT: CESSNA 206

REGISTRATION: 5Y - AUC

PLACE: MANDERA AIRFIELD

DATE: 9TH

NOVEMBER 2006

TIME: 1540 HOURS

All times given in this report are Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). East

African Local Time is UTC plus 3 hours.

AIRCRAFT TYPE: Cessna P206E

MANUFACTURER: Cessna Aircraft Company

YEAR OF MANUFACTURE: 1970

AIRCRAFT REGISTRATION: 5Y - AUC

AIRCRAFT SERIAL NUMBER: P - 206 - 00637

DATE OF REGISTRATION: 10th

February 1986

TYPE OF ENGINE: Continental IO-520-A

DATE OF ACCIDENT: 9th

November 2006

TIME OF ACCIDENT: 1540 hours

LOCATION OF ACCIDENT: Mandera Airstrip

TYPE OF FLIGHT: Public Transport (Passenger)

NUMBER OF PERSONS ON BOARD: Crew – 1 Passengers – 2

INJURIES: Crew – Minor Passengers – None

NATURE OF DAMAGE: Nose landing gear, propeller and cargo

bay damaged

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SYNOPSIS .......................................................................... 1

1 HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT ........................................... 1

1.1 PERSONNEL INFORMATION .................................... 2

1.2 AIRCRAFT INFORMATION ....................................... 2

1.3 AERODROME INFORMATION ................................... 3

1.4 FLIGHT PLANNING............ Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.5 LANDING DISTANCE ................................................ 5

1.6 ORGANIZATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT

INFORMATION ................................................................ 5

2 ANALYSIS ................................................................... 7

3 CONCLUSION ............................................................. 9

4 SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................11

5 APPENDIX ................................................................12

SYNOPSIS

The Air Accident Investigation Department was informed of the incident

at Mandera on 9th November 2006 by the pilot. We arrived at the site on

11th November 2006 and commenced investigations. The aircraft, a

Cessna 206 registration 5Y-AUC, departed the runway as it landed at

Mandera Airstrip at night and ended up in the ditch about 150 meters

from the end of the runway. The pilot had minor injuries while the other

two occupants were not injured. The aircraft suffered minor damage.

Figure 1 5Y-AUC at accident site. Note the ditch before the aircraft came to rest

1 History of the flight

The aircraft, a Cessna 206 registration 5Y-AUC, departed Wilson

Airport at 1159 hours. The aircraft was taking two mechanics to

Mandera to recover another aircraft. The planned landing time was

estimated to be 1544 hours. The aircraft had a fuel endurance of 5

hours. Wajir Airfield, which the pilot estimated was about 1.3 hours

from Mandera, was the alternate. When the aircraft arrived at

Mandera, at about 1535 hours, it was already dark. The pilot circled

the Airfield twice before he landed. Meanwhile, the Army Unit on the

ground positioned two vehicles to assist with the runway lighting.

One lorry was placed at the threshold of runway 05 and the other

near the end of the runway. The pilot landed on runway 05. As the

aircraft rolled down the runway, the pilot states that he tried to avoid

hitting the lorry near the end of the runway by swerving to the right

and back to the center line. He, however, lost directional control due

to the bushes at the end of the runway and the aircraft went into a

ditch, coming to a stop approximately 150 meters from the end of

the runway.

The pilot smashed his face on the instrument panel and had a small

cut on the nose. He was stitched at the local hospital and

discharged. The two mechanics were not injured. They all exited the

aircraft safely. There was no fire.

The aircraft nose wheel disengaged from the oleo strut and the fiber

glass cargo bay was damaged. Two blades of the three blade

propeller were slightly bent.

2

1.1 Personnel information

The pilot held a valid commercial pilot licence (CPL) number YK-

5604-CL with a Cessna 206 rating. He also has an instructor rating

on the Cessna 150. His medical certificate was valid up to March

2007. He had accumulated 2000 hours, of which 1320 were on

rotary wing and 680 were on fixed wing. He had 150 hours on the

Cessna 206. The pilot was on hire to Blue Nile (EA) Limited.

The pilot had operated at Mandera while he was a helicopter pilot in

the Army. As a civilian pilot, he had landed at Mandera only once

before, about 3 months ago, in a Cessna 172. This was his second

landing at the Airstrip.

The day before the accident, the pilot had a check out flight on the

Piper PA 28 for about 1 hour. He was due to have a simulator class

in Nairobi on 10th November 2006 at 0930 hours.

1.2 Aircraft information

The aircraft was a Cessna P206E, serial number P206 - 00637,

registration number 5Y - AUC. It was issued with a certificate of

registration number 986 - D on 10th February 1986 and had a

current certificate of airworthiness number 1007. The certificate of

airworthiness was issued in the public transport category. The

aircraft was manufactured in 1970. Since new the aircraft had

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accumulated 6246.5 hours including 918.03 hours since the last

check III inspection.

The aircraft was equipped with a Teledyne Continental Motors

model IO – 520A 14B engine, which had accumulated 692.03 hours

since new. Fitted to the engine was a McCauley variable pitch 3-

blade propeller which had accumulated 918.1 hours since last

overhaul.

1.3 Aerodrome information

The aircraft ran off the runway at Mandera Airstrip. Mandera

Airstrip is unmanned and has only one runway, 05/23. It is about

1100 meters long and 23 meters wide. Runway 05 has a negative

slope of 0.7. There are power lines as you approach to land on

runway 23. The Republic of Kenya Aeronautical Information

Publication (AIP) gives the airport’s coordinates as 035549.0N

0415103.6E. The airport elevation is 805 feet.

The AIP lists the hours of operation at Mandera as sunrise to sunset.

The AIP sunrise/sunset tables give sunset at Garissa (coordinates

002748.34S 0393853.853E) on the 9th November 2006 as 1509

hours. The website www.earthtools.org/ gives sunset for Mandera

(coordinates 3˚ 55′ 34″N 41˚ 50′ 46″E) on the 9th November 2006

as 1454 hours. According to the Civil Aviation Act (CAP 394), “night”

means the time between fifteen minutes after sunset and fifteen

minutes before sunrise. Therefore, by 1509 hours it was night in

4

Mandera. According to CAP 394 of the Laws of Kenya, Air Navigation

Regulation 65(2), An aircraft shall not take off or land by night at any

place in Kenya unless adequate lighting is in operation at the

aerodrome.

There are tall bushes around the runway which should be cleared

as soon as possible. The AIP gives the runway surface as bitumen.

However, the runway surface is, in fact, gravel.

The windsock was noticed to be in tatters and needs to be

replaced. The non-availability of a windsock is covered by AIP

supplement AD S41/05 dated 13th September 2005 which advises

pilots to exercise caution.

There is serious encroachment on the airstrip. Houses have been

built very close to the runway. The accident aircraft could have

smashed into the houses had it not been stopped by a ditch.

The United States Federal Aviation Authority in its Accident

Prevention Program publication FAA-P-8740-50 AFS-810 (1995)

advises as follows:

Never attempt a landing at an unlighted airport, no matter how well you think you

know

it. If in doubt about lighting at your destination, don't be embarrassed. Call Flight

Service.

5

Figure 2

1.4 Landing Distance

The pilot states that he landed about 300 meters from Runway 05

threshold at his normal landing speed of 80 knots. So he had about

800 meters in which to stop the aircraft. According to the Owners

Manual, he needed about 735 feet (225 meters ) to stop the aircraft.

We tested the aircraft brakes during the investigation and they were

in good working order. The lorry that he was trying to avoid was

almost at the end of the runway. The pilot stated that he did not

brake immediately on landing for fear of colliding with the lorry. This

increased his landing run to beyond the end of the runway.

1.5 Organizational and management information

Blue Nile (East Africa) Limited holds a current Air Operators Certificate

(AOC) number 183, valid up to April 2007, for public transport. Blue Nile

(EA) Limited operates two Cessna 206 and 208, and one Beech craft

B100 aircraft.

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The Blue Nile General Operations Manual, Chapter 8, paragraph

8.1.2.1 states that:

No pilot shall use and no operator or owner shall authorize the use of an aerodrome as a

destination or alternate destination aerodrome unless such aerodrome is adequate for

the type of aircraft and the operation concerned.

Paragraph 8.1.2.2 states that:

Except in an emergency no take off or landing will be permitted at night at any

aerodrome that is not equipped with night flying facilities.

Paragraph 8.4.8.1 further states that: All these operations must be strictly carried out under Visual Flight Rules as there are

no landing aids in some of the areas. Therefore night landings and take off are

prohibited in such areas.

2 Analysis

The pilot took off from Wilson Airport at 1159 hrs. The estimated

flight time was 3.75 hrs. The alternate was Wajir, which is 1.3 hrs

before and enroute Mandera. The AIP gives the hours of operation at

Mandera as sunrise to sunset. The calculation of sunset time plus 15

minutes give night at Mandera on the 9th November 2006 as 1509

hours. The pilot arrived at Mandera at about 1535 hours when it was

already dark.

In order to make a daylight landing at Mandera and still have 1.3

hours of daylight to fly to Wajir in case of a diversion, the pilot

needed at least 5.05 Hrs. To arrive at Wajir before sunset (1504

hours), he had to be in Mandera by latest 1344 hours. Considering

that it would take him approximately 3.75 hours from Wilson Airport

to Mandera, he would have had to leave Wilson approximately 5.05

hours before sunset in Wajir, at 0959 hours. He instead left at 1159

hours. Therefore, he took off from Wilson Airport with a shortfall in

daylight hours of approximately 2 hours. Given the best

circumstances in the flight, the aircraft could not have landed safely

at the alternate during the published daylight. In the event the

aircraft actually made a landing at the planned destination at night.

He had no other option but to try and land because his alternate

(Wajir) also had no lighting.

It is against civil aviation regulations (CAP 394) to land by night at

any place in Kenya unless adequate lighting is in operation at the

aerodrome.

8

It is also against Blue Nile (K) Limited operating procedures to take

off or land at night at any aerodrome that is not equipped with night

flying facilities. The pilot landed at Mandera at night. Therefore, this

flight was performed in contravention of Blue Nile (K) Limited

operating procedures.

The pilot had enough landing length to stop the aircraft before the

end of the runway. He, however, did not apply the brakes in good

time leading to the departure from the runway.

3 Conclusion

This incident was caused by the pilot’s poor flight planning and his

decision to land by night on an aerodrome that did not have

lighting.

4 Safety recommendations

4.1 KCAA should ensure that certificated operators including Blue Nile

(K) Limited follow the approved operational standards as spelt out

in their approved operations manuals.

4.2 KCAA should consider further training and/or examination in aircraft

performance and flight planning for the pilot.

4.3 The overrun area of Mandera airstrip, runway 05 should be cleared

of all bushes.

4.4 The current encroachment on Mandera airfield should be stopped.

CIA

5 Appendix Accident photographs

Figure 3

Figure 4

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Figure 5

Figure 6 5Y - AUC after being moved to the parking area