TheFairchild F-27 andFairchild Hiller FH-227 are versions of theFokker F27 Friendship twin-engined,turboprop,passenger aircraft formerly manufactured under license byFairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to the standard Fokker F27, while the FH-227 was an independently developed, stretched version.
Prototype of the F-27 in 1958-1959Fairchild F-27J ofAir South in 1974, showing the shorter fuselage of this versionAn FH-227D used in the movieAlive in the livery ofFuerza Aérea Uruguaya Flight 571 that crashed in the Andes in 1972Venezuelan carrierAvensa was the first South American F-27 customer, with first delivery September 1958. This specific aircraft (YV-C-EVH) waslost in an accident in February 1962, including all 23 occupants.AFairchild Hiller FH-227B of the defunctMohawk Airlinescirca 1970
The Fokker F27 began life as a 1950 design study known as the P275, a 32-seater powered by twoRolls-Royce Dart turboprops. With the aid ofDutch government funding, the P275 evolved into the F27, which first flew on November 24, 1955. The first prototype was powered by Dart 507s and would have seated 28. To correct a slight tail heaviness and to allow for more seats, the second prototype (which first flew in January 1957) had a 3-foot-longer (0.91 m)fuselage, which allowed seating for 32.
Fairchild F-27s differed from the initial Fokker F27 Mk 100s in having basic seating for 40, heavier external skinning, a lengthened nose capable of housingweather radar, and additional fuel capacity. They also incorporated a passenger airstair door in the rear of the aircraft, operated by a flight attendant, which eliminated the need for separate stairs on the ground.
Developments were the F-27A with more powerful engines and the F-27BCombi aircraft version. The F-27B Combi mixed passenger/freight version was operated in Alaska by Northern Consolidated Airlines and Wien Air Alaska.
Fairchild independently developed the stretched FH-227, which appeared almost two years earlier than Fokker's similar F27 Mk 500. The FH-227 featured a 1.83 m (6 ft) stretch over standard-length F27/F-27s, taking standard seating to 56, with a larger cargo area between the cockpit and the passenger cabin.
In addition to the 581 F27s built by Fokker, 128 F-27s and 78 FH-227s were built. As of February 2010[update], only one Fairchild FH-227 aircraft, FH-227E serial number 501 belonging to theMyanmar Air Force, remained in active service.[citation needed]
Of the 206 Fairchild F-27s built, at least 33 experienced fatal crashes between 1960 and 2003:
On November 7, 1960, an AREA Ecuador F-27A struck the dormantAtacazo volcano in bad weather during its approach toMariscal Sucre International Airport inQuito,Ecuador after a domestic flight fromSimón Bolívar International Airport, inGuayaquil.[4][5] The crash, 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) south of Quito and 150 meters to the summit of the Atacazo, killed all the 37 occupants of the plane.[6] This particular aircraft (msn. 1, reg. HC-ADV) was the first prototype of the Fairchild F-27, which had been sold to AREA Ecuador in 1959.[7][5] At the time, it was the worst aerial crash in the history ofEcuador, the first and worst fatal loss of an F-27, and the first accident involving the then-recently-opened Quito airport.[4][6]
On November 15, 1964,Bonanza Air Lines Flight 114, flying an F-27 from Phoenix, Arizona, to Las Vegas, Nevada, crashed into a mountain south of Las Vegas during poor weather. All 26 passengers and three crew on board died.
On March 10, 1967,West Coast Airlines Flight 720 crashed with four fatalities and no survivors near Klamath Falls, Oregon. The F-27 was bound for Medford, Oregon, from Klamath Falls, and crashed due to ice accumulation on the aircraft.
On March 8, 1968, the F-27 aircraft flyingAir Manila Flight 507 was destroyed in a turbulent thundercloud over theSibuyan Sea, killing all 14 on board.[11]
On May 4, 1968, an Eastex F-27J killed the two people on board, from a failed landing atEl Paisano Ranch, Texas.[12]
On August 10, 1968,Piedmont Airlines Flight 230 was on an ILS localizer-only approach toCharleston-Kanawha County Airport (CRW) in West Virginia when the FH-227B struck trees 360 feet from the runway threshold. All three crew members and 32 of the 34 passengers perished. The National Transportation Safety Board blamed the accident on an "unrecognized loss of altitude orientation during the final portion of an approach into shallow, dense fog."[13]
On December 2, 1968, Wien Consolidated Airlines F-27B,N4905B, encountered turbulence near Pedro Bay, Alaska that tore off the right wing. All 39 on board died. Pre-existing fatigue cracks contributed to wing failure. (NTSB DCA69A0006)
On November 19, 1969,Mohawk Airlines Flight 411, a short flight between Albany and Glens Falls, New York, crashed into Pilot Knob Mountain, killing all 14 on board the FH-227B.[14]
On February 5, 1972, TAC Colombia HK-1139, an F-27 flying from Bogotá to Valledupar, crashed into a mountain and killed all 19 occupants.[17]
On March 3, 1972,Mohawk Airlines Flight 405, an FH-227, crashed into a house inAlbany, New York, on approach toAlbany County Airport. The crew had difficulty getting the cruise lock to disengage in one of the engines. While the crew attempted to deal with the problem, the aircraft crashed short of the airfield, killing 16 of the 48 people in the aircraft and one person on the ground. The lone surviving crew member was stewardess Sandra Quinn.
On October 13, 1972,Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, an FH-227D carrying 45 people, crashed in the remote Andes mountains. The pilot mistakenly believed the aircraft had overflownCuricó, the turning point to fly north, and begin descending. He failed to notice thatinstrument readings indicated he was still 60–70 km (37–43 mi) east of Curicó. The plane crashed at 11,000 feet (3,400 m) on a glacier; 16 of the 45 people on board survived for 72 days by resorting to cannibalism, eating the dead. The event became known as the "Miracle in the Andes", and was the subject of the 1974 bookAlive: The Story of the Andes Survivors, the 1976 Mexican filmSurvive! (Supervivientes de los Andes), the 1993 filmAlive, and the 2023 filmSociety of the Snow.
On July 23, 1973,Ozark Air Lines Flight 809 was operated by an FH-227, registration N4215. The flight was scheduled to go from Nashville, Tennessee, to St. Louis, Missouri, with four intermediate stops. The segments to Clarksville, Paducah, Cape Girardeau, and Marion proceeded normally. Crashed in storm downdraft on final approach to St. Louis. 38 fatalities, 6 survivors.
On August 30, 1975, Wien Air Alaska F-27B, N4904,crashed into mountain on approach in bad weather atGambell, Alaska, killing 10 and seriously injuring 20. (NTSB DCA76AZ004)
On March 29, 1979,Québecair Flight 255, an F-27, crashed after take-off, killing 17 and injuring seven.
On January 24, 1980, aBurma Air Force FH-227 crashed when an engine failed shortly after take-off, killing all but one of the 44 people on board. One person on the ground was injured.[18]
On December 9, 1982, anAeronor Chile F-27A was operating asFlight 304 on a scheduled domestic service from Santiago toLa Serena, Chile. On final approach to La Serena'sLa Florida Airport, the aircraft stalled and crashed, bursting into flames on impact. All 42 passengers and four crew on board died.[22]
On March 16, 1984, aLloyd Aéreo Boliviano F-27M crashed into Mount Pilón en route toSan Borja, claiming the lives of all 23 occupants.[23]
On March 4, 1988, aTAT European Airlines FH-227B operating a scheduled service from Nancy to Paris Orly asTAT Flight 230 crashed nearFontainebleau, France, killing all 23 occupants. An electrical malfunction during the start of the aircraft's descent had resulted in a sudden loss of control.[24]
On April 10, 1989,Uni-Air International Flight 602 from Paris to Valence crashed into a mountain because of a navigational error, killing all 22 aboard the FH-227B.[25]
On May 10, 1990,Aviacsa Flight 100 killed all four crew members and 20 of the 36 passengers, from a failed landing of the F-27J aircraft atTuxtla Gutiérrez Airport in Mexico. Investigators attributed the crash to the crew's lack of experience and coordination, in the airline's first week of operation.[26]
On June 6, 1990, TABA FH-227 registration PT-ICA flying fromBelém-Val de Cans toCuiabá, Brazil, viaAltamira and other stops, while on approach under fog to land at Altamira, descended below the approach path, collided with trees, and crashed 850 m short of the runway. Of the 41 passengers and crew, 23 died.[27][28]
On January 25, 1993, TABA FH-227, registration PT-LCS, operating a cargo flight from Belém-Val de Cans toAltamira, Brazil, crashed into the jungle near Altamira during night-time approach procedures. The crew of three died.[29]
On November 28, 1995, TABA FH-227, registration PP-BUJ, operating a cargo flight from Belém-Val de Cans toSantarém, Brazil, crashed on its second attempt to approach Santarém. The crew of two and one of the passenger occupants died.[30]
On October 26, 2003, an FH-227B cargo flight byCATA Línea Aérea crashed after an engine failed during takeoff from Buenos Aires, killing all five aboard.[33]
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "O fim da Paraense".O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 267–268.ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Aru traiçoeiro".O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 327–331.ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
^Germano da Silva, Carlos Ari César (2008). "Nevoeiro na reta final".O rastro da bruxa: história da aviação comercial brasileira no século XX através dos seus acidentes 1928–1996 (in Portuguese) (2 ed.). Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS. pp. 361–363.ISBN978-85-7430-760-2.
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