Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108

1988 aviation accident

Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108
Accident
D-CABB, the aircraft involved in the accident
Date	8 February 1988
Summary	Aircraft struck by lightning, followed by spatial disorientation and in-flight break up
Site	2.1 km (1.3 mi) north of Kettwig 51°22′27″N 6°54′53″E / 51.3743°N 6.9148°E / 51.3743; 6.9148
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Swearingen SA.227BC Metroliner III
Operator	Nürnberger Flugdienst
ICAO flight No.	NFD108
Call sign	FLAMINGO 108
Registration	D-CABB
Flight origin	Hannover Airport
Destination	Düsseldorf Airport
Occupants	21
Passengers	19
Crew	2
Fatalities	21
Survivors	0

Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108 was a scheduled regional flight which crashed near Essen, Germany, on 8 February 1988 with the loss of all 21 occupants. The flight was operated by Swearingen SA.227BC Metroliner III D-CABB for Nürnberger Flugdienst, from Hannover Airport to Düsseldorf Airport. It is the deadliest aviation accident involving the Swearingen Fairchild Metroliner.

Accident

Flight 108 took off from Hannover Airport at 7:15 am and was on approach to runway 24 at Düsseldorf Airport by 7:50 am, in a thunderstorm. The Captain of the flight was Ralf Borsdorf, 36, and the First Officer was Sibylle Heilmann, 29. At 7:56 am both flight recorders abruptly stopped recording and the aircraft disappeared from secondary radar. Two minutes later, pieces of the Metro III impacted near Kettwig adjacent to the Ruhr River, killing all 21 people aboard.

Investigation

The investigation revealed that the aircraft had been hit by lightning during the approach to Düsseldorf Airport, which disrupted the electrical system and therefore the flight instruments. The pilots became disorientated and blindly entered a high speed descent. Witnesses on the ground described the plane as coming out of the clouds briefly and entering a climb, which suggested that the crew briefly regained orientation of the aircraft upon seeing the ground. However, once it re-entered the clouds the crew likely became disoriented again. After almost 2 minutes of "predominantly uncontrolled flight," one of the trailing edge flaps (which could not be retracted without electrical power) failed due to overloading, sending the aircraft into an unrecoverable spiral during which it disintegrated in midair.

References

Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Swearingen SA227-AC Metro III D-CABB Kettwig". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2020-10-26.
^ "BERICHT über die Untersuchung des Flugunfalles mit dem Flugzeug SA 227 - AC, Metro 111, D - CABB, am 8. Februar 1988 bei Kettwig AZ.: 1 X 0001/88" [REPORT on the investigation of the aircraft accident involving the aircraft SA 227 - AC, Metro 111, D - CABB, on February 8, 1988 near Kettwig AZ .: 1 X 0001/88] (PDF) (in German). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2020-10-26. - New URL.

External links

Final accident report (in German) - Luftfahrt-Bundesamt

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1988 (1988)
Jan 2 Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782Jan 18 Aeroflot Flight 699Jan 18 China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146Jan 19 Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286Jan 24 Aeroflot Flight 29674Feb 3 American Airlines Flight 132Feb 8 Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108Feb 19 AVAir Flight 3378Feb 27 Talia Airways Boeing 727 crashMar 1 Comair Flight 206Mar 4 TAT Flight 230Mar 8 Aeroflot Flight 3739Mar 17 Avianca Flight 410Apr 5 Kuwait Airways Flight 422Apr 28 Aloha Airlines Flight 243May 6 Widerøe Flight 710May 24 TACA Flight 110Jun 12 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046Jun 23 British Army Lynx shootdownJun 26 Air France Flight 296QJul 3 Iran Air Flight 655Jul 13 BIH Sikorsky S-61N crashAug 17 Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-HaqAug 28 Ramstein air show disasterAug 31 CAAC Flight 301Aug 31 Delta Air Lines Flight 1141Sep 9 Vietnam Airlines Flight 831Sep 15 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604Oct 17 Uganda Airlines Flight 775Oct 19 Indian Airlines Flight 113Nov 2 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703Dec 8 Remscheid A-10 crashDec 11 Soviet Air Force Il-76 crashDec 21 Pan Am Flight 103
1987 ◄ ► 1989

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1988 (1988)

Jan 2 Condor Flugdienst Flight 3782Jan 18 Aeroflot Flight 699Jan 18 China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146Jan 19 Trans-Colorado Airlines Flight 2286Jan 24 Aeroflot Flight 29674Feb 3 American Airlines Flight 132Feb 8 Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108Feb 19 AVAir Flight 3378Feb 27 Talia Airways Boeing 727 crashMar 1 Comair Flight 206Mar 4 TAT Flight 230Mar 8 Aeroflot Flight 3739Mar 17 Avianca Flight 410Apr 5 Kuwait Airways Flight 422Apr 28 Aloha Airlines Flight 243May 6 Widerøe Flight 710May 24 TACA Flight 110Jun 12 Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046Jun 23 British Army Lynx shootdownJun 26 Air France Flight 296QJul 3 Iran Air Flight 655Jul 13 BIH Sikorsky S-61N crashAug 17 Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-HaqAug 28 Ramstein air show disasterAug 31 CAAC Flight 301Aug 31 Delta Air Lines Flight 1141Sep 9 Vietnam Airlines Flight 831Sep 15 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604Oct 17 Uganda Airlines Flight 775Oct 19 Indian Airlines Flight 113Nov 2 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703Dec 8 Remscheid A-10 crashDec 11 Soviet Air Force Il-76 crashDec 21 Pan Am Flight 103

1987 ◄ ► 1989

Aviation accidents and incidents in Germany

German Empire
(1871–1918)

Otto Lilienthal (August 1896)
Erbslöh (July 1910)
Helgoland Island air disaster (September 1913)
Johannisthal air disaster (October 1913)

Nazi Germany
(1933–1945)

Swissair Tuttlingen accident (July 1934)
Deutsche Lufthansa Ju 90 crash (November 1940)

Occupied Germany
(1945–1949)

Gatow air disaster (April 1948)

West Germany
and
West Berlin
(1949–1990)

1950s	KLM Flight 592 (March 1952) Sabena Convair Crash (October 1953) Altensteig mid-air collision (August 1955) Munich air disaster (February 1958) template
1960s	Munich C-131 crash (December 1960) ČSA Flight 511 (March 1961) Lufthansa Flight 005 (January 1966)
1970s	Paninternational Flight 112 (September 1971) LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 hijacking (August 1978)*
1980s	Royal Air Force Jaguar shootdown (May 1982) Rhein-Main Starfighter crash (May 1983) Nürnberger Flugdienst Flight 108 (February 1988) Ramstein air show disaster (August 1988) Remscheid A-10 crash (December 1988) Wiesmoor mid-air collision (January 1989)

East Germany
(1949–1990)

F-84 Thunderstreak incident (September 1961)
T-39 shootdown incident (January 1964)
Pan Am Flight 708 (November 1966)*
Königs Wusterhausen air disaster (August 1972)
Interflug Flight 1107 (September 1975)
Aeroflot Flight 892 (December 1986)
Interflug Flight 102 (June 1989)

Germany
(1990–)

Überlingen mid-air collision (1 July 2002)
Swiss International Air Lines Flight 850 (10 July 2002)

Aviation incidents that took place in West Berlin, or involved an approach for there, are marked with an asterisk (*).

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