Flightline Flight 101 was an international flight from Barcelona, Spain to Oran, Algeria. It crashed into the sea, probably due to a lightning strike leading to a loss of electricity.

Flightline Flight 101

The aircraft involved in the accident, seen in August 2001
Accident
Date	10 October 2001 (2001-10-10)
Summary	Lightning strike
Site	Mediterranean Sea, 18.5 km from Columbretes Islands, Spain
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Swearingen SA226-AT Merlin IVA
Operator	Flightline
ICAO flight No.	FTL101[1]: 1
Registration	EC-GDV
Flight origin	Barcelona-El Prat Airport, Spain
Destination	Oran-es Senia Airport, Algeria
Occupants	10
Passengers	8
Crew	2
Fatalities	10
Survivors	0

Aircraft

EC-GDV was a Swearingen SA226-AT Merlin IVA built in 1976. Prior to the accident it had accumulated 11, 950 flight hours. It was powered by two TPE331-10UA engines.[2]

Flight

The aircraft took off from Barcelona-El Prat Airport at 10:18. It flew normally in the direction of Valencia before the last radio contact at 10:38 and disappeared from radar screens 4 minutes later, probably as a result of total electrical failure, caused by a lightning strike. The loss of electricity rendered many systems inoperable, such as elevator trim, lighting and instruments, anti-ice and navigation. The aircraft then impacted the water at a steep pitch angle, either as a result of loss of control or spatial disorientation.[1][3][4]

Cause

Investigators noted two instances where an electrical failure occurred on board an SA-226 due to a lightning strike. On February 8, 1988 Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108 broke up in mid-air after the pilots became disoriented due to a loss of electrical power caused by a lightning strike. Later in November 1991, another aircraft suffered a lightning strike and a total electrical failure. However the crew managed to restore power and land safely.

Considering this and the loss of radar contact investigators concluded that the probable cause of the accident was:

A lightning strike in the middle of the storm in which it was flying, without the crew being able to recover. It is possible that the lightning strike produced other damages to the airplane and/or could have induced or produced failures in other systems of the airplane. The set of these circumstances, aggravated by the storm, with strong rains and turbulence and the associated lack of visibility, lead to the impact of the airplane with the sea.

— CIAIAC

[1][3][4]

See also

• Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108
• Pan Am Flight 214

References

На других языках

[de] Flightline-Flug 101