SA de Transport Aérien Flight 730 was a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 10R aircraft, registered as HB-ICK, that crashed on approach to

Funchal Airport Madeira Airport ( pt, Aeroporto da Madeira, ), informally Funchal Airport (), formally Santa Catarina Airport () and officially Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, is an international airport in the civil parish of Santa Cruz in the Portugu ...

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

, on December 18, 1977. The flight crew consisted of two captains. The pilot in command had never previously landed at Funchal and was being trained to operate from the notoriously difficult airport by the other, more experienced captain, who was acting as co-pilot. The training was intended to take place during daytime, but due to a delay the aircraft reached its destination after dark. The non-scheduled flight departed from Zurich, making its first stop at

Geneva Cointrin International Airport Geneva Airport ,, german: Flughafen Genf, it, Aeroporto di Ginevra, rm, Eroport de Genevra formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport, is the international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It i ...

at 14:30 UTC. While at Geneva, the aircraft's departure to Funchal was delayed due to a

hydraulic pump Hydraulic pumps are used in hydraulic drive systems and can be hydrostatic or hydrodynamic. A hydraulic pump is a mechanical source of power that converts mechanical power into hydraulic energy ( hydrostatic energy i.e. flow, pressure). It genera ...

failure, and it finally took off at 16:26. At 19:38, the crew contacted Madeira control tower when they were at the ROSE reporting point at , and were cleared to descend to . At 19:55, the crew reported overflying

Porto Santo Porto Santo Island () is a Portuguese island northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean; it is the northernmost and easternmost island of the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean west of Europe and Africa. The mun ...

island at and were instructed to continue their descent to 5000 ft and then to contact Funchal approach control. At 19:57, Funchal cleared the crew to descend to and informed them that the

QNH The Q-code is a standardised collection of three-letter codes that each start with the letter "Q". It is an operating signal initially developed for commercial radiotelegraph communication and later adopted by other radio services, especially ...

was 1014.0 hpa. After being cleared for the approach the crew descended below the permitted during circling, even though they had lost sight of the runway. The aircraft had its landing gear down and the flaps were extended to 20 degrees when it crashed into the water. Thirty-five passengers and one hostess lost their lives, many becoming trapped inside the sinking fuselage. The remaining passengers and crew, including both pilots, were rescued by local fisherman and rescue teams, or swam to the nearby shore. The cause of the accident was attributed to pilot error, due to lack of coordination between the pilots, and to sensorial illusion. It was the second fatal air crash in a month at Funchal. On November 19,

TAP Portugal Flight 425 TAP Flight 425 was a regular flight from Brussels, Belgium, to Santa Catarina Airport (informally known as Funchal Airport or Madeira Airport; now the Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport), Portugal, with an intermediate scheduled stop in Li ...

had crashed at the airport, killing 131 people.

Wreckage discovery

In October 2011 the wreckage of the Caravelle was found by a team of Portuguese divers at a depth of . The aircraft had reportedly broken into two sections.

References

External links

*
Accident report
- GPIAA
Full reportArchive

Le site des pionniers de l'aéronautique à Genève
{{DEFAULTSORT:SA de Transport Aerien Flight 730 Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Aviation accidents and incidents in 1977 Aviation accidents and incidents in Portugal Accidents and incidents involving the Sud Aviation Caravelle SA de Transport Aérien accidents and incidents December 1977 events in Europe 1977 disasters in Portugal