Wreckage of Societe de Transport Aérien (SATA) Caravelle 10 R near Funchal found 34 years after accident

The wreckage of a SATA Caravelle 10R, registration HB-ICK, which on Dec 18 1977 landed unintentionally in the water while on the base leg to runway 06 at Funchal/Madeira (Portugal), has been located 34 years after the accident by a diver team at 110 meters depth off the coast.

The aircraft had been operating flight VS-730 from Zurich via Geneva (Switzerland) to Funchal with 52 passengers and 5 crew on board. Shortly before landing, the airplane descended below the prescribed altitude and hit the water in landing configuration on the base leg to runway 06 at Funchal. The aircraft subsequently broke in two parts, the forward section and the rear. 35 passengers and one crew member died of which 16 passengers and the stewardess were never recovered.

The report by the Swiss Accident Investigation Bureau revealed that the flight was operated by two captains, one of which had never landed in Funchal before. The flight should have been conducted by day but fell into night time due to technical problems before departure in Geneva. The instructor dismissed the regular copilot, who was supposed to have been flying the leg as PNF and assumed the function himself, a procedure which the BFU deemed illegal. The instructor assumed therefore the role of assisting pilot on the right hand seat.

During the approach to Funchal, the aircraft was ordered into a circling approach for runway 06. It started to gradually lose altitude during the end of downwind and base leg until it ditched some 2.5nm before the coast abeam Rosario. The aircraft broke in two parts, the aft part with the engines and empennage sinking rapidly, the other part floating for a while. 17 passengers and four crewmembers escaped the wreckage and were rescued from the sea. The rest of the passengers and one crew member drowned.

As the technical possibilities of the days did not allow a recovery effort with reasonable means the wreck was never recovered. Also the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder were never recovered.

A divers team has now located what appears to be the aft part of the aircraft in 110 meters depth. Video footage shows the empennage plus the engines and some parts of the cabin.

It is questionable if the CVR or FDR, even if recovered after 34 years, would still yield any answers.

Flight SATA 730 was an international charter service from Zurich to Funchal Airport, Madeira, Portugal via Geneva, Switzerland. The Caravelle aircraft landed at Geneva at 14:30 UTC. Departure was delayed because a hydraulic pump had to be replaced. The flight deck crew consisted of two captain. A new captain was in the left-hand seat and was piloting the aircraft. The other captain (who was in the right-hand seat) performed the duties of pilot-in-command, pilot responsible for the initiation to Funchal, route check pilot and co-pilot. Initiation of the new captain was necessary because of the difficult approach and landing at Funchal. However, this initiation ought to have been made by day.
The aircraft took off at 16:26. The flight then progressed in accordance with the flight plan. At 19:38 the crew contacted Madeira control, reporting Rose Point at FL330; the aircraft was cleared to leave this flight level at 19:41. The crew then asked for descent instructions and received clearance to descend to FL050; it was requested to contact control again when this level was reached or when overflying the Porto Santo (PST) NDB. At 19:55 the crew reported being overhead the PST at FL085. The aircraft was instructed to continue its descent to FL050, then to contact Funchal approach control.
At 19:57 the crew contacted Funchal approach control, which stated that runway 06 was in service and cleared the aircraft to descend to 3500 ft, the QNH being 1014.0 mb.
After being cleared for the approach the crew descended below the 720 ft permitted during circling, even though they had lost sight of the runway. The pilots, had lost sight of the runway lights at the end of the downwind leg and at the beginning of the base leg, when the aircraft was already flying below 200 ft. The radio altimeter had probably been preset to 200 ft, but the pilots did not check its indications. The aircraft touched the sea soon after the base leg turn. The landing gear and flaps (20°) were out.

CAUSE: "The accident was caused by an involuntary ditching during the approach. The fact that the aircraft was flying below the descent plane may have been due to a lack of co-ordination between the pilots and a sensorial illusion on the part of the crew, when it was preoccupied with the search for visual runway references."