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Olympic Airways Flight 3838
 SX-ECH, the aircraft involved in the accident | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 14 September 1999 |
| Summary | Pilot-induced oscillations |
| Site | Over Călinești, Teleorman, Romania 44°04′48″N 25°12′12″E / 44.08000°N 25.20333°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Dassault Falcon 900B |
| Operator | Olympic Airways for the Hellenic Air Force |
| IATA flight No. | OA3838 |
| ICAO flight No. | OAL3838 |
| Call sign | OLYMPIC 3838 |
| Registration | SX-ECH |
| Flight origin | Ellinikon International Airport, Athens, Greece |
| Destination | Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport, Bucharest, Romania |
| Occupants | 13 |
| Passengers | 10 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 7 |
| Injuries | 4 |
| Survivors | 6 |
On 14 September 1999, Olympic Airways Flight 3838, a flight operating for the Hellenic Air Force, experienced multiple pilot-induced oscillations while over southern Romania, killing seven people. The aircraft—a Dassault Falcon 900B flying from Ellinikon International Airport in Athens, Greece—was flying to Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest, Romania, for the Interbalkan Conference of Foreign Ministers and was carrying Greek deputy foreign minister Giannos Kranidiotis.
While descending through 15,000 ft (4,600 m), the autopilot disconnected, causing an unfavorable stabilizer trim situation. In response to the disconnection, the pilot flying attempted to correct the pitch of the aircraft by use of the control column. However, this resulted in ten separate pitch oscillations with g-forces that exceeded the maneuvering load factor for the aircraft. As a result, six of passengers on board, including Kranidiotis, were killed and one additional passenger died three days after the accident.
The investigation, conducted by the Romanian Civil Aviation Inspectorate, concluded several factors that led to the accident. As the aircraft was climbing out of Athens, the pilots received a warning related to the aircraft's pitch system. The pilots did not properly identify and evaluate the failure and used inappropriate checklists only designed for training. As the aircraft was descending, the pilot flying exerted enough force on the control column to disconnect the autopilot. The continued force on the control column led to the beginning of the pilot-induced oscillations and the passengers not wearing their seatbelts during the oscillations resulted in widespread injury.[1]
- ^ FINAL REPORT on the ACCIDENT of the FALCON 900B registered SX-ECH, 14 September 1999 (PDF) (Report). Civil Aviation Inspectorate. 1 August 2000. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
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