SafetyEngineer
New Member
It was five years ago today that Flash Airlines flight 604 fell into the sea. I would like to take this time to remember the incident and give my condolences on the lives lost on that fateful trip.
On January 3, 2004, a Boeing 737-300 series took off from Sharm El Shikh-Ophira Egypt with 135 passengers and 13 crew, bound for Cairo International Airport Egypt. The flight was mostly French holidaymakers on their way home. During the flight something terrible went wrong and at 04:45am the aircraft struck the water and sank, taking all 148 souls on board.
The investigation and ICAO did not come up with a conclusive probable cause. I have attached the Aviation Safety Network information below for you.
I would like to take this moment to remember those who perished and to wish all of you safe flights in the future and offer my sympathy to those who lost anyone on this flight.
May angels guide you under your wings.
Fly Safe! :rawk:
__________________________________________________
Accident description
<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD class=caption>Status:</TD><TD class?desc?>Final</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Date:</TD><TD class=caption>03 JAN 2004</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Time:</TD><TD class=desc>04:45</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Type:</TD><TD class=desc>Boeing 737-3Q8</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Operator:</TD><TD class=desc>Flash Airlines</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Registration:</TD><TD class=desc>SU-ZCF</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>C/n / msn:</TD><TD class=desc>26283/2383</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>First flight:</TD><TD class=desc>1992-10-09 </TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Total airframe hrs:</TD><TD class=desc>25603</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Cycles:</TD><TD class=desc>17976</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Engines:</TD><TD class=desc>2 CFMI CFM56-3C1</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Crew:</TD><TD class=desc>Fatalities: 13 / Occupants: 13</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Passengers:</TD><TD class=desc>Fatalities: 135 / Occupants: 135</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Total:</TD><TD class=desc>Fatalities: 148 / Occupants: 148 </TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Airplane damage:</TD><TD class=desc>Destroyed</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Airplane fate:</TD><TD class=desc>Written off (damaged beyond repair)</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Location:</TD><TD class=desc>15 km (9.4 mls) S off Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) http://aviation-safety.net/database/record_map.php?id=20040103-0</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Phase:</TD><TD class=desc>En route (ENR)</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Nature:</TD><TD class=desc>Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Departure airport:</TD><TD class=desc>Sharm el Sheikh-Ophira Airport (SSH), Egypt</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption><NOBR>Destination airport:</NOBR></TD><TD class=desc>Cairo International Airport (CAI/HECA), Egypt</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Flightnumber:</TD><TD class=desc>604</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Narrative:
Weather was perfect (excellent visibility, 17 degrees C and a light breeze) when Flash Air flight 604 departed the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh for a flight to Paris-CDG with an intermediate stop at Cairo. On board were 135, mostly French, holidaymakers who were heading home.
At 04:38 the flight was cleared to taxi to runway 22R for departure. After takeoff, at 04:42, the plane climbed and maneuvered for a procedural left turn to intercept the 306 radial from the Sharm el-Sheikh VOR station. When the autopilot was engaged the captain made an exclamation and the autopilot was immediately switched off again. The captain then requested Heading Select to be engaged. The plane then began to bank to the right. The copilot then warned the captain a few times about the fact that the bank angle was increasing. At a bank angle of 40 degrees to the right the captain stated "OK come out". The ailerons returned briefly to neutral before additional aileron movements commanded an increase in the right bank.
The aircraft had reached a maximum altitude of 5460 feet with a 50 degrees bank when the copilot stated: "Overbank". Repeating himself as the bank angle kept increasing. The maximum bank angle recorded was 111 degrees right. Pitch attitude at that time was 43 degrees nose down and altitude was 3470 feet.
The observer on the flight deck, a trainee copilot, called "Retard power, retard power, retard power". Both throttles were moved to idle and the airplane gently seemed to recover from the nose-down, right bank attitude. Speed however increased, causing an overspeed warning. At 04:45 the airplane struck the surface of the water in a 24 degrees right bank, 24 degrees nose-down, at a speed of 416 kts and with a 3,9 G load.
The wreckage sank to a depth of approx. 900 metres.
CONCLUSION: "No conclusive evidence could be found from the findings gathered through this investigation to determin the probable cause. However, based on the work done, it could be concluded that any combination of these findings could have caused or contributed to the accident.
Although the crew at the last stage of this accident attempted to correctly recover, the gravity upset condition with regards to attitude, altitude and speed made this attempt insufficient to achieve a successful recovery."
On January 3, 2004, a Boeing 737-300 series took off from Sharm El Shikh-Ophira Egypt with 135 passengers and 13 crew, bound for Cairo International Airport Egypt. The flight was mostly French holidaymakers on their way home. During the flight something terrible went wrong and at 04:45am the aircraft struck the water and sank, taking all 148 souls on board.
The investigation and ICAO did not come up with a conclusive probable cause. I have attached the Aviation Safety Network information below for you.
I would like to take this moment to remember those who perished and to wish all of you safe flights in the future and offer my sympathy to those who lost anyone on this flight.
May angels guide you under your wings.
Fly Safe! :rawk:
__________________________________________________
Accident description
<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD class=caption>Status:</TD><TD class?desc?>Final</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Date:</TD><TD class=caption>03 JAN 2004</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Time:</TD><TD class=desc>04:45</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Type:</TD><TD class=desc>Boeing 737-3Q8</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Operator:</TD><TD class=desc>Flash Airlines</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Registration:</TD><TD class=desc>SU-ZCF</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>C/n / msn:</TD><TD class=desc>26283/2383</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>First flight:</TD><TD class=desc>1992-10-09 </TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Total airframe hrs:</TD><TD class=desc>25603</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Cycles:</TD><TD class=desc>17976</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Engines:</TD><TD class=desc>2 CFMI CFM56-3C1</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Crew:</TD><TD class=desc>Fatalities: 13 / Occupants: 13</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Passengers:</TD><TD class=desc>Fatalities: 135 / Occupants: 135</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Total:</TD><TD class=desc>Fatalities: 148 / Occupants: 148 </TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Airplane damage:</TD><TD class=desc>Destroyed</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Airplane fate:</TD><TD class=desc>Written off (damaged beyond repair)</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Location:</TD><TD class=desc>15 km (9.4 mls) S off Sharm el Sheikh (Egypt) http://aviation-safety.net/database/record_map.php?id=20040103-0</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Phase:</TD><TD class=desc>En route (ENR)</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Nature:</TD><TD class=desc>Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Departure airport:</TD><TD class=desc>Sharm el Sheikh-Ophira Airport (SSH), Egypt</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption><NOBR>Destination airport:</NOBR></TD><TD class=desc>Cairo International Airport (CAI/HECA), Egypt</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Flightnumber:</TD><TD class=desc>604</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Narrative:
Weather was perfect (excellent visibility, 17 degrees C and a light breeze) when Flash Air flight 604 departed the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh for a flight to Paris-CDG with an intermediate stop at Cairo. On board were 135, mostly French, holidaymakers who were heading home.
At 04:38 the flight was cleared to taxi to runway 22R for departure. After takeoff, at 04:42, the plane climbed and maneuvered for a procedural left turn to intercept the 306 radial from the Sharm el-Sheikh VOR station. When the autopilot was engaged the captain made an exclamation and the autopilot was immediately switched off again. The captain then requested Heading Select to be engaged. The plane then began to bank to the right. The copilot then warned the captain a few times about the fact that the bank angle was increasing. At a bank angle of 40 degrees to the right the captain stated "OK come out". The ailerons returned briefly to neutral before additional aileron movements commanded an increase in the right bank.
The aircraft had reached a maximum altitude of 5460 feet with a 50 degrees bank when the copilot stated: "Overbank". Repeating himself as the bank angle kept increasing. The maximum bank angle recorded was 111 degrees right. Pitch attitude at that time was 43 degrees nose down and altitude was 3470 feet.
The observer on the flight deck, a trainee copilot, called "Retard power, retard power, retard power". Both throttles were moved to idle and the airplane gently seemed to recover from the nose-down, right bank attitude. Speed however increased, causing an overspeed warning. At 04:45 the airplane struck the surface of the water in a 24 degrees right bank, 24 degrees nose-down, at a speed of 416 kts and with a 3,9 G load.
The wreckage sank to a depth of approx. 900 metres.
CONCLUSION: "No conclusive evidence could be found from the findings gathered through this investigation to determin the probable cause. However, based on the work done, it could be concluded that any combination of these findings could have caused or contributed to the accident.
Although the crew at the last stage of this accident attempted to correctly recover, the gravity upset condition with regards to attitude, altitude and speed made this attempt insufficient to achieve a successful recovery."