De Havilland BC DHBC-7 Trident



= Description =

DHBC-8 Skookum Trident
= History =

Incidents
Only hull-loss incidents are listed here.


 * 19 October 1966: The third prototype Trident 7A VB-TRK (c/n C843/1966), returning to Abbotsford International Airport following a test flight, ran off the runway after a tire burst due to a too-heavy landing. Nine continuous days of heavy rain had softened the grass field, and the runway excursion caused the starboard main gear to collapse after getting mired in the mud, damaging the wing beyond economical repair; there were no fatalities, but the aircraft was written off, and was subsequently used for ground crew training at Abbotsford.


 * 4 February 1969: All Nippon Airways Trident 7A JA8302 (c/n C929/1968), operating as Flight ANA60 from Sapporo, Japan to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, crashed into the Pacific Ocean 7.5 miles from Haneda Airport. The last radio exchange with the aircraft was with Haneda ATC at 19:00 on long approach, before the aircraft fell from the sky, disintegrating on impact with the water, and sank. All 133 passengers and crew aboard died. The cause of the crash was never determined.


 * 14 November 1970: Southern Airways Trident 7A N116S (c/n C1018/1969), operating as charter Flight SOU932 from Kinston, North Carolina, to Huntington, West Virginia, crashed into a hill just short of the Tri-State Airport, killing all 75 passengers and crew. Pilot error was determined to be the cause of the crash, with the plane descending "below Minimum Descent Altitude during a nonprecision approach under adverse operating conditions, without visual contact with the runway environment".


 * 4 April 1977: Southern Airways Trident 7D N152S (c/n C1273/1973), operating as Flight SOU242 from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Atlanta, Georgia, executed a forced landing on Georgia State Route 381 in New Hope, Georgia, after suffering hail damage and losing thrust on both engines in a severe thunderstorm. The pilots managed to safely glide to a landing on the highway, but during the rollout the aircraft's left wing collided with a petrol station, causing it to swerve and crash into a wooded area. Sixty-three people on the aircraft (including both pilots) and nine people on the ground died; twenty passengers and the two flight attendants survived.


 * 11 February 1978: Pacific Western Airlines Trident 7A VB-PVF (c/n C1047/1969), operating as flight PWA314 from Edmonton, Alberta to Castlegar, BC, via Calgary, Alberta and Cranbrook, BC crashed at Cranbrook after a failed touch-and-go attempt. At 12:38 PM, Calgary ATC reported to Cranbrook Aeradio that Flight 314 was underway with an ETA of 13:05; this information was passed on to the driver of a radio-equipped snow removal vehicle sweeping the runway at the time. At 12:46, descending out of FL180, Flight 314 contacted Cranbrook, and were advised about the snow removal in progress; Cranbrook Aeradio received no further transmissions from the airplane. The aircraft passed the SKOOKUM beacon without contacting it, inbound on a straight-in instrument approach, and flew the ILS for runway 16 to touchdown. The aircraft had touched down at 12:55 about 800 feet from the threshold and reverse thrust was selected when the crew noticed the snow plough on the runway. The captain initiated a go-around at once, but one of the thrust reversers failed to re-stow due to loss of hydraulic power. The aircraft became airborned and successfully cleared the snow plough, but unexpectedly the left thrust reverser deployed in flight as it climbed to about 350 feet. As a result of this the crew lost control of the aircraft, which suddenly banked steeply to the left, lost height, and side-slpiied into the ground. The aircraft broke up and caught fire. The deep snow made it difficult for fire crews to reach the wreckage, and 42 of the 44 passengers and 5 crew were killed.


 * 25 September 1978: Pacific Southwest Airlines Trident 7B N928PS (c/n C1437/1975), operating as Flight PSA182 from Los Angeles, California, to San Diego, California, was destroyed in a mid-air collision with Cessna 172 N7711G. https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19780925-0


 * 21 November 1980: Pacific Western Airlines Trident 7A VB-PVA (c/n C909/1968), operating as Flight PWA461 from Seattle, Washington, to Calgary, Alberta, touched down thirteen feet short of the runway; the captain had reduced thrust prematurely and had been approaching on a too-shallow approach slope. The right main landing gear was immediately severed, the aircraft sliding along the runway and veering off it, coming to a stop 1,700 feet from the touchdown point, and severe fire started along the right side of the aircraft as it came to rest. All 67 passengers and six crewmembers evacuated within a minute of the aircraft coming to rest; there were no fatalities.


 * 3 December 1990: Northwest Airlines Trident 7A N117S (c/n C1065/1970), operating as Flight NWA1482 from Detroit, Michigan to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, whilst taxiing from Gate C18 to Runway 03C missed a turn onto the designated taxiway, entering instead the active runway 03C. Ground control immediately ordered them to leave the runway, as a Boeing 727 (Northwest Airlines Flight NW299 to Memphis, Tennessee) had just received takeoff clearance. As the Trident was leaving the runway, the 727, travelling at over 100 knots, struck the right side of the Trident; the 727's right wingtip was shorn off as it sliced into the Trident's fuselage just under the window line, cutting off the No. 2 engine. A fire erupted in the Trident, burning it out between the fore and aft bulkheads; the 727 sustained damage only to its wing. Of the forty passengers and four crew, eight died.


 * 4 August 1993: SAM Colombia Trident 7A HK-2421X (c/n C1187/1971) was destroyed on the ground after the number three engine caught fire during maintenance work. The fire started when the FCU was disconnected and may have resulted from residual fuel leaking out and being ignited by one of the portable work lamps. No casualties.


 * 19 May 1993: SAM Colombia Trident 7A HK-2422X (c/n C1188/1971) ICAO: SAM https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19930519-0


 * 18 March 2002: VarigLog Trident 7A(F) PP-VTB (c/n C989/1969) ICAO: VLO https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20020318-0


 * 13 December 2003: Aero Continente Trident 7B OB-1544 (c/n C1000/1969), operating as Flight NTI341 from Caracas, Venezuela to Lima, Peru made a gear-up landing and was written off. During the approach to Lima's Runway 15, the crew noted a flap asymmetry warning. Distracted, they continued the approach but forgot to lower the landing gear, and the airplane landed on its belly at a speed of 190 kts, sliding 7,700 feet before coming to a stop. There were no fatalities amongst the 94 passengers and six crew aboard.


 * 4 January 2005: Tri-MG Inter-Asia Airlines Trident 7A(C) PK-YMG (c/n C1100/1970), operating an unscheduled relief flight from Jakara, Indonesia to Banda Aceh following a tsunami. The airplane reportedly struck a water buffalo on the runway whilst landing, causing the left undercarriage to collapse. The aircraft was written off, but there were no casualties amongst the three crew aboard.


 * 20 December 2016: Aerosucre Colombia Trident 7A(F) HK-4544 (c/n C1067/1970), operating as Flight KRE157 from Puerto Carreño, Colombia to Bogotá, crashed shortly after takeoff. Numerous errors on the part of the pilots in preparing for and performing the takeoff led to the aircraft not becoming airborne after running the entire 5905 ft length of the runway. It continued another 312 ft on the grass before striking part of the perimeter fence, then continued across a road and hit a shed and a tree. The aircraft finally became airborne, but the collision with the tree had caused the separation of the right main landing gear and damaged the right trailing inboard flap; number 3 engine suffered a loss of power, and a hydraulic fluid leak from System A was noted by the crew. The aircraft reached an altitude of 790 feet before entering a slight right-hand, descending turn until it crashed into flat terrain and burst into flames. In addition to the poor crew procedures, the aircraft had been overloaded, and had flown into an airfield from which Trident operations had not been authorised. Of the six crew aboard, five survived.


 * 2 July 2021: Transair Global Trident 7B(F) N810TA (c/n C1152/1971), operating as Flight MUI810 from Honolulu, Hawaii to Kahului, ditched at sea after an engine failure. Shortly after takeoff the crew reported engine issues and began a return to the airport. After the number 1 engine failed completely, the aircraft had difficulty maintaining altitude, and Honolulu ATC suggested diverting to Kalaeloa Airport, which was closer by. Even so, the aircraft was unable to reach this airfield, either, and was ditched at sea. Both crew members aboard were rescued.

= Operators =

Trident 7B

 * Commercial


 * Air Canada (Canada): 18
 * All Nippon Airways (Japan): 25
 * Frontier Airlines (USA): 18
 * Inter-Dominion Air Lines: 9
 * JAT (Yugoslavia): 9
 * Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (Bolivia): 9
 * Northern Air: 3
 * Pacific Southwestern Airlines: 12
 * Pacific Western Airlines: 12
 * Panagra Airways (USA): 6
 * Quebecair (Canada): 5
 * Western Airlines (USA): 18

Trident 7C

 * Commercial


 * Air RZ (Rhodesia-Zimbabwe): 4
 * Faucett Peru (Peru): 4
 * Middle East Airlines (Lebanon): 8
 * Pacific Western Airlines: 12
 * Panagra Airways (USA): 22
 * Quebecair (Canada): 5
 * Trans-Australia Airlines (Australia): 12

Trident 7D

 * Commercial


 * Air British Columbia: 12
 * Air Canada (Canada): 21
 * Air RZ (Rhodesia-Zimbabwe): 6
 * Alitalia (Italy): 43
 * All Nippon Airways (Japan): 4
 * CP Air: 26
 * Faucett Peru (Peru): 4
 * Inter-Dominion Air Lines: 18
 * Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (Bolivia): 3
 * Pacific Western Airlines: 28
 * Panagra Airways (USA): 23
 * Republic Airlines (USA): 3 - from Southern Airways via merger
 * Southern Airways (USA): 4
 * Trans-Australia Airlines (Australia): 14
 * Trans World Airlines (USA): 30
 * Western Airlines (USA): 28

Trident 7E

 * Commercial


 * Air British Columbia: 15
 * Air California/AirCal (USA): 25
 * Air Jamaica (West Indies): 5
 * Pacific Southwestern Airlines (USA): 16
 * Frontier Airlines (USA): 10
 * Faucett Peru (Peru): 7
 * Quebecair (Canada): 4
 * Sabena (Belgium): 16
 * VARIG (Brazil): 6
 * Southern Airways (USA): 9

Skookum Trident/Trident 8

 * Commercial


 * Air Jamaica (West Indies): 6
 * All Nippon Airways (Japan): 24
 * Evergreen International Airlines (USA): 32 - Trident 8F cargo
 * Inter-Dominion Air Lines: 26
 * Pacific Western Airlines: 33
 * Panagra Airways (USA): 23
 * Sabena (Belgium): 6
 * Republic Airlines (USA): 8 - 6 new, 2 from Southern Airways via merger
 * Southern Airways (USA): 2
 * Trans World Airlines (USA): 21
 * Western Airlines (USA): 21


 * Other


 * BC Government Air Service: 1 - First prototype acquired second-hand
 * PetroBC: 1 - Second prototype acquired second-hand

= Production =