Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 9 August 2007 |
Summary | Loss of control due to deterioration and vertical stabilizer failure |
Site | 1.5 km (0.9 mi; 0.8 nmi) off Moorea-Temae Airport (MOZ), French Polynesia 17°30′6″S 149°44′46″W / 17.50167°S 149.74611°W |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter |
Operator | Air Moorea |
IATA flight No. | QE1121 |
Registration | F-OIQI |
Flight origin | Moorea-Temae Airport (MOZ/NTTM), French Polynesia |
Destination | Papeete-Fa'a'ā International Airport (PPT/NTAA) |
Passengers | 19 |
Crew | 1 |
Fatalities | 20 |
Survivors | 0 |
Air Moorea Flight 1121 was a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter which crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff from Moorea Airport on Moorea Island in French Polynesia on 9 August 2007, killing all 20 people on board.
It was bound for Tahiti's Fa'a'ā International Airport on a regular 7-minute service, one of the shortest on earth, scheduled 40 times a day. The crash resulted from loss of control due to failure of the airplane's elevator cable.[1] Frequent takeoff and landing are believed to have been a major factor in the crash, because of wear and tear on the elevator cables, inspected only at fixed time intervals, regardless of usage. Another factor may have been jet-blast from large planes pushing back from the ramp at Fa'a'ā International.