Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Date: | Thursday 12 July 1979 |
Time: | 10:20 |
Type: | Britten-Norman BN-2A-9 Islander |
Operator: | Fiji Air |
Registration: | DQ-FBO |
MSN: | 195 |
First flight: | 1970-06-23 (9 years ) |
Total airframe hrs: | 8835 |
Engines: | 2 Lycoming O-540-E4C5 |
Crew: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
Passengers: | Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 8 |
Total: | Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9 |
Aircraft damage: | Damaged beyond repair |
Location: | 10 km (6.3 mls) ENE of Bua ( Fiji)
|
Phase: | En route (ENR) |
Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
Departure airport: | Suva-Nausori Airport (SUV/NFSU), Fiji |
Destination airport: | Bua-Dama Airport (BVF/NFNU), Fiji |
Flightnumber: | 71 |
Narrative:Flight 71 departed Suva at 09:46 on a domestic 35-minute flight to Bua. When the aircraft failed to arrive there, a search and rescue operation was started. The wreckage of the aircraft was located by a ground party on 14 July 1979 in a tropical rain forest at an altitude of 1450 feet amsl.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The accident was caused by the pilot in command continuing the flight into conditions where he lost visual reference with the surface which resulted in the aircraft colliding with the terrain."
Classification:
VFR flight in IMC
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
Sources:
» BAAA-ACRO
» ICAO Digest 25 (Circular 172)
» World Directory of Airliner Crashes
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Suva-Nausori Airport to Bua-Dama Airport as the crow flies is 138 km (86 miles).
Accident location: Exact; as reported in the official accident report.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.