2017 Myanmar Air Force Shaanxi Y-8 crash

2017 Myanmar Air Force Shaanxi Y-8 crash
A blue and white four-engine aircraft in flight, flaps extended
A Shaanxi Y-8 of the Myanmar Air Force, similar to the aircraft involved in the crash
Accident
Date7 June 2017 (2017-06-07)
SummaryCrashed into the sea following loss of control in icing conditions
SiteAndaman Sea, near Dawei, Myanmar
13°48′N 98°02′E / 13.800°N 98.033°E / 13.800; 98.033
Aircraft
Aircraft typeShaanxi Y-8F-200
Operator Myanmar Air Force
Registration5820
Flight originMyeik Airport, Myeik
DestinationYangon International Airport, Yangon
Occupants122
Passengers108
Crew14
Fatalities122
Survivors0

On 7 June 2017, a Shaanxi Y-8 aircraft of the Myanmar Air Force crashed on a flight from Myeik to Yangon, killing all 122 people on board. Debris from the aircraft was found in the Andaman Sea, 118 nautical miles (218 km) off Dawei by Myanmar Navy ships. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Myanmar's history.

History of the flight

Location of departure and destination airports
Myeik
Myeik
Contact lost
Contact lost
Yangon
Yangon
class=notpageimage|
A map showing the locations of the Myeik Airport; Yangon International Airport, and where communication was lost.

The aircraft had departed from Myeik for Yangon at 13:06 local time (06:36 UTC).[1] At 13:35, communication was lost with the aircraft when it was 20 nautical miles (37 km) west of Dawei.[2] The aircraft was flying at 18,000 feet (5,500 m) at the time. A search and rescue operation was launched in the Andaman Sea.[3][4] An unidentified spokesman said that weather was not thought to be a factor in the aircraft's disappearance.[5] No mayday call had been received from the aircraft.[6]

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Shaanxi Y-8F-200 of the Myanmar Air Force,[3] serial number 5820.[7] It had been delivered in March 2016 and had flown for over 800 hours at the time of the crash.[3]

Passengers and crew

The aircraft's captain was Lt-Col Nyein Chan and the co-pilots were Lt-Col Soe Thu Win and Maj Thant Zin Htay. The aircraft had 14 crew members.[8]

108 military staff members and their families, including 15 children, were on board when the plane lost communication with Dawei airbase. Six officers and 29 other military personnel were on board.[8]

Nine Myanmar Navy ships,[9] and three military aircraft and helicopters were sent to assist in the search.[1][10] On 7 June, debris from the aircraft was reported to have been found 118 nautical miles (218 km) off Dawei by a Myanmar Navy ship.[3] On 8 June, it was reported that 29 bodies had been found.[11][12]

The wreckage was scattered over a wide area, indicating that the aircraft might have disintegrated in flight at altitude.[6] Storms in the area hindered the search. By 9 June, hopes of finding survivors were fading.[13] It was later reported that there were no survivors.[2] Instead, bodies and debris have been found scattered in the Andaman Sea, and some washed ashore.[14]

This was the deadliest aviation accident to occur in Myanmar,[15] surpassing the crash of a Fokker F27 Friendship 500 in 1987, which killed 49 people.[16]

On 15 June, a fishing boat helping with the search found the tail of the aircraft off Myinkhwar Aww Bay.[17] The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were recovered on 18 June.[18]

Investigation

Investigator determined that control of the aircraft was lost after it entered thick storm clouds and encountered icing conditions.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b "Military aircraft with 120 people on board goes missing off Myanmar". Sky News. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b "5820 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Debris Of Myanmar Plane With Over 100 On Board Found In Sea: Reports". NDTV. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Burma military plane disappears with more than 100 on board, army says". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Debris found in hunt for missing Myanmar plane with 105 people on board". Metro. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Myanmar plane: Debris and bodies found after search". BBC News Online. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  7. ^ @MayWongCNA (7 June 2017). "(untitled)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ a b "Three Bodies, Debris Found in Search for Missing Military Plane". The Irrawaddy News Magazine. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  9. ^ "Wreckage of missing Myanmar military plane found". CNN. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  10. ^ "Burmese military plane vanishes". BBC News Online. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  11. ^ "Wreckage and bodies found in Myanmar missing plane search". Sky News. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  12. ^ Tin Htet Paing (8 June 2017). "Crashed Military Aircraft Carried 9 Officers Transferring for Medical Treatment". 8 June 2017. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
  13. ^ Htay, Hla-Hla. "Storms hinder desperate search for Myanmar plane wreck". Yahoo News. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  14. ^ Connor, Neil. "Children among the dead as bodies pulled from the sea after Myanmar plane crashes with 120 on board". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  15. ^ "ASN Aviation Safety Database". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  16. ^ "Accident Description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
  17. ^ "Fishing boat hooks tail of crashed Myanmar plane". News24. 15 June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  18. ^ "Black box from crashed Myanmar army plane retrieved". Reuters. Archived from the original on June 18, 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  19. ^ "Myanmar plane: Bad weather blamed for Andaman Sea crash". BBC News. 19 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2023.