De Havilland BC DHBC-2 Heron

= Description =

= History =

Incidents

 * 11 December 1957 Philippine Airlines Heron 3B RP-C55 (c/n C325/1954), operating a scheduled flight from Ozamiz City, Philippines to Pagadian, crashed during take-off due to a loss of control. Passing 75 feet after take-off, the aircraft suddenly banked left and lost altitude, catching fire after hitting some trees. Climbing through 75 feet after takeoff, the Otter suddenly turned left and descended. The airplane hit two trees and caught fire. It was determined that the weight of the passengers' hand luggage was not included in the weight calculations. Even with that weight included, the gross weight was still within the aircraft's MTOW; however, the passengers were mostly seated at the rear, the weight was distributed unevenly. This, as well as gusty winds and a high ambient temperature together with a too-steep climb on take-off contributed to the irrecoverable low-altitude stall. Of the ten passengers and two pilots, the pilot and one passenger were killed.


 * 28 July 1959 Central African Airways Heron 3 VP-WFJ (c/n C311/1953), operating a non-scheduled passenger flight from Bulawayo, Rhodesia & Nyasaland to Salisbury, was written off after a belly landing. The green light indicating 'gear down and locked' did not illuminate for the right side main gear on approach to Salisbury. The emergency gear extension system failed to work, so a belly landing was attempted on the grass parallel to the runway. The main gear strut collapsed, and the aircraft swung right before coming to a stop. There were no fatalities amongst the 36 passengers and 3 crew aboard.


 * 23 August 1959 LIAT Heron 3B VW-LIK (c/n C433/1956), making a ferry flight from Antigua, West Indies to St Kitts, overran the runway on landing and was damaged beyond repair. Neither of the crewmembers aboard were seriously injured.


 * 27 July 1962 Philippine Airlines Heron 3B RP-C56 (c/n C372/1955) crashed during a training flight; both pilots were killed.


 * 17 August 1963 Fujita Airlines Heron 3B JA6155 (c/n C537/1958), operating a non-scheduled flight from Hachijo-Jima, Japan to Haneda Airport in Tokyo, crashed into a mountainside in heavy fog shortly after take-off from Hachijo-Jima. All 16 passengers and 3 crewmembers were killed.


 * 20 May 1964 Philippine Airlines Heron 3B RP-C52 (c/n C313/1953), operating as Flight PAL26 from Siocon, Philippines to Zamboanga, crashed in heavy weather near Sibuco Point. Despite near-zero visibility due to the heavy rain, the pilot continued to fly VFR into a heavy squall, and the aircraft went down over the rocky shoreline. All eleven passengers and two crew were killed.


 * 26 January 1971 TAT Transportes Aéreos de Timor Heron 3B CR-TAI (c/n C322/1953), operating a non-scheduled passenger flight from Darwin, Australia to Bacau, Timor Leste, crashed into the sea northwest of Bathurst Island. The aircraft departed Darwin at 11:33 for a 1 hour 20 minute flight to Bacau. At 12:10, a radio exchange was made with another TAT Heron (CR-TAG) flying in the opposite direction; this was the last contact anyone had with the aircraft before its disappearance. Investigators concluded that the primary cause was probably poor visibility and poor flying conditions for which the pilot was not sufficiently qualified. There were no survivors amongst the seven passengers and two crewmembers aboard.


 * 23 May 1972 Air New England Heron 3B N472CI (c/n C473/1957), operating as Flight ANE212 from Providence, Rhode Island to Portland, Maine, crashed on take-off due to propeller failure. After passing V1 speed, just as the co-pilot, First Officer Richard J. Edmonds, called "rotate", one of the propeller blades on the number two engine (port inboard) broke off and was driven into number one engine, destroying it. The aircraft lifted off a moment later, as the power from the two starboard engines was enough to rotate, but the imbalance caused it to lurch left, with the port wing dipping downwards and the starboard attempting to continue the climb. The aircraft climbed only about 50 feet before dropping back to the ground. Of the eleven passengers and crew aboard, four, including Captain William Garcia and First Officer Edmonds, were killed; the other seven passengers suffered light to serious injuries, with three needing hospitalisation.


 * 23 September 1985 Piedmont Airlines Heron 3B N840HA (c/n C683/1962), operating as Flight PDT1517 from Baltimore, Maryland to Staunton, Virginia, crashed into a mountainside on approach to Staunton. Having been cleared for an ILS approach to Runway 04, the crew became uncertain of their position and struck the southwest face of Hall Mountain at 2,400 feet. The NTSB investigation concluded that the probable cause of the accident was navigational error as a result of using the incorrect navigational facility, and the use of non-standard (and non-FAA-approved) navigational radio systems. The fourteen passengers and two crew were all killed.

= Operators =

Other
= Production =