2001 Bremerhaven Airline Britten-Norman Islander crash

On 26 December, 2001, a BAL Bremerhaven Airline Pilatus Britten-Norman BN-2B-26 Islander, operating a domestic regional flight in Germany from Bremerhaven Airport, Bremen State, to Wangerooge Airfield, Lower Saxony, crashed, shortly after take off, in the Weser estuary off the coast of the city of Bremerhaven. Eight of the nine people on board were killed. The investigaation into the accident found out that the airplane stalled, after losing lift on take off, due to ice accumulation.

Accident

The aircraft was scheduled to depart Bremerhaven Airport, Bremen State, for the Wangerooge Airfield, Lower Saxony, at around 9:30 am local time, but, due to a snowstorm affecting the area, the flight was delayed by around 45 minutes. At 10:13 am the airplane took off from runway 34 and started its climb. The aircraft reached a maximum altitude of around 60 meters, then started banking left and losing altitude. The plane then crashed and rapidly sank into the eastuary of the Weser river, off the city of Bremerhaven.

The passengers and crew of the MV Bremerhaven ferry, that was sailing in the area, witnessed the accident, so the crew of the ship decided to deviate from its route to reach the crash site. The MV Bremerhaven rescued two passengers, and its crew were the first people to alert the authorities. Then the German Federal Coast Guard, the local firefighters and the Wasserschutzpolizei, the german river police, started, with the use of seven ships and two helicopters, search and rescue operations, they managed to rescue a third person. Sonars were used to try to locate the wreckage underwater, and sub expeditions were sent. In the end of the nine people on board three, two passengers and the pilot, were rescued, of them one died shortly after and the other died in hospital in Bremen after some hours, and the other six remained missing, but were presumed dead, due to the low temperatures of the river's waters. Only a 43 years old woman survived. The wreckage of the aircraft was later located at a depth of 11 meters. Recovery operations lasted until December 31, when the last parts of the wreckage, belonging to the tail sections were recovered. Most of the wreckage was found in an area pretty far away from the crash site, and it was probably brought there by the river currents.