Precision Air Flight 494
ATR 42-500 · Controlled flight into terrain
From Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) to Bukoba Airport (BKZ)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 19 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 43
- Survivors
- 24
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- 24
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
ATR 42-500
- Flight
- PW494
- Aircraft type
- ATR 42
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- 5H-PWF
- Operator
- Precision Air
- Onboard fatalities
- 19
- Route
- From Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR)To Bukoba Airport (BKZ)
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Task performance
- Personnel issues › Miscellaneous
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
Precision Air Flight 494 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight within Tanzania, from Julius Nyerere International Airport to Bukoba Airport via Mwanza Airport. On 6 November 2022, the ATR 42-500 plane crashed in Lake Victoria while attempting to land at Bukoba during bad weather and low visibility. Nineteen people were killed, including both pilots who drowned before rescue workers could reach them.
Accident
Flight 494 took off from Dar es Salaam around 06:00 East Africa Time and was scheduled to land at Bukoba around 08:30 after a stopover at Mwanza. A survivor stated that the pilots had to reroute the aircraft due to the deteriorating weather and that the aircraft had to fly towards the Tanzania–Uganda border before turning back towards Bukoba. The passenger further stated that during their approach, they encountered heavy turbulence after being informed that they were to land shortly, eventually finding themselves in the lake with the plane beginning to take on water.
The aircraft crash-landed in Lake Victoria at 08:45, 500 m short of the runway. Survivors stated that the front portion of the aircraft was immediately filled with a large amount of water, causing panic inside the cabin. The flight attendants then opened the emergency exits and passengers began to escape from the sinking aircraft. Photos and videos spread on social media showed the plane almost fully submerged, with only its tail section visible above the water line.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
During the funeral service of the victims in Kagera's Kaitaba Stadium, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa ordered an inquiry into the crash. The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) would be involved in the probe. The French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) confirmed that their members would travel to Tanzania to assist with the investigation. Technical advisers from ATR would also join the investigation effort.
In 2023 the CAA released their preliminary report. It stated that the approach was conducted under visual flight rules in poor weather and that the flight crew ignored alerts from the Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS).
On 18 January 2025, the final report into the accident was released by Tanzania's AAIB. The investigation found that the crew had failed to properly respond to EGPWS warnings until 2 seconds before impact. The report stated that the aircraft struck the water at 2° pitch down and banked 10° to the left. A failure in CRM was cited.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Precision Air Flight 494” (revision 1339594018, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: Precision Air Flight 494
- Article
- Precision Air Flight 494
- Revision
- 1339594018 · 2026-02-21 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q115102751
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "Precision Air Flight 494" (page 72192568, revision 1339594018)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- airline flight number in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.