ELK Airways Flight 1007

On 23 November 2001, ELK Airways Flight 1007, an Antonov An-28 leased from Enimex, crashed on approach to Kärdla Airport, Hiiu County, after a domestic flight in Estonia from Tallinn Airport. Two of the aircraft's 17 occupants were killed. The investigation on the accident found out that the crash was a case of controlled flight into terrain, caused mainly by the crew's decision of switching from an instrument approach to visual approach, a decision that was made to avoid icing conditions. The accident is the only fatal passenger plane crash in the history of independent Estonia.

Accident

Flight 1007 departed Tallinn Airport at around 6:05 pm local time, headed for a short domestic flight to Kärdla Airport on Hiiumaa island. On board there were three crew members and 14 passengers, of which 13 were Estonian nationals and one was a Norwegian national. The aircraft took off and climbed normally to flight level FL060. The aircraft contacted Kärdla Airport air traffic control at 6:19 pm, and requested weather information. Winds were pretty high, with peaks of 44 km/h, visibility was good, at around 8 kilometers, cloud ceiling was at around 370 meters and temperature at 0 degrees Celsius. Icing conditions were highly possible due to the low temperature and high humidity levels. Soon after the aircraft was instructed to descend to flight level FL014. During the continuation of the approach the crew of Flight 1007 switched from continuing an instrument approach to a visual approach, to avoid the icing conditions present in the area. At 6:03 pm the aircraft impacted treetops and crashed into a marshland located about one and a half kilometers south-est of the airport runway. The marsh absorbed some of the impact forces and prevented more blunt force fatalities and the development of a post-crash fire, since the aircraft fuel tanks didn't rupture. A 49 years old passenger died on impact, and 15 of the 16 survivors were injured, of which two, the first officer and a 10 years old boy, were serious. Five of the injured were airlifted to Tallinn, including two children that were brought to a pediatric hospital, and five were brought to an hospital in Kärdla. The 10-year-old boy, who initially survived in serious conditions, died of his injuries in hospital on November 29, bringing the final death toll of the crash to two.