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1988 aviation accident
Nurnberger Flugdienst Flight 108
was a scheduled regional flight which crashed near
Essen, Germany
, on 8 February 1988 with the loss of all 21 occupants. The flight was operated by
Swearingen SA.227BC Metroliner III
D-CABB for Nurnberger Flugdienst, from
Hannover Airport
to
Dusseldorf Airport
. It is the deadliest aviation accident involving the Swearingen Fairchild Metroliner.
[1]
Accident
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Flight 108 took off from
Hannover Airport
at 7:15
am and was on approach to runway 24 at Dusseldorf Airport by 7:50
am, in a thunderstorm. The Captain of the flight was Ralf Borsdorf, 36, and the First Officer was Sibylle Heilmann, 29. At 7:56
am both flight recorders abruptly stopped recording and the aircraft disappeared from
secondary radar
. Two minutes later, pieces of the Metro III impacted near Kettwig adjacent to the
Ruhr River
, killing all 21 people aboard.
[2]
Investigation
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The investigation revealed that the aircraft had been hit by
lightning
during the approach to Dusseldorf Airport, which disrupted the electrical system and therefore the flight instruments. The pilots became disorientated and blindly entered a high speed descent. Witnesses on the ground described the plane as coming out of the clouds briefly and entering a climb, which suggested that the crew briefly regained orientation of the aircraft upon seeing the ground. However, once it re-entered the clouds the crew likely became disoriented again. After almost 2 minutes of "predominantly uncontrolled flight," one of the trailing edge flaps (which could not be retracted without electrical power) failed due to overloading, sending the aircraft into an unrecoverable spiral during which it disintegrated in midair.
[2]
References
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External links
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Aviation accidents and incidents in Germany
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German Empire
(1871-1918)
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Nazi Germany
(1933-1945)
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Occupied Germany
(1945-1949)
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West Germany
and West Berlin
(1949-1991)
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East Germany
(1949-1991)
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Germany
(1991-)
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Includes both the former East Germany and West Germany
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