Finding into death of WENDY VERONICA PAGE

53y · Female·Poly-trauma in an aircraft accident — multiple injuries sustained when the de Havilland Twin Otter aircraft crashed into the sea off French Polynesia due to failure of the elevator pitch up control cable

Wendy Page, aged 53, was a passenger on an Air Moorea de Havilland Twin Otter turboprop that crashed into the sea off French Polynesia on 10th August 2007. The aircraft, carrying 19 passengers and 1 pilot, reached approximately 500 feet altitude after takeoff from Moorea Airport before suddenly losing altitude and plunging into the sea 500 metres from the runway. All 20 occupants died. The French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis determined the crash was caused by failure of the elevator pitch up control cable during flap retraction, resulting from large cable wear, probable jet blast damage, and strain failure. Contributing factors included lack of pilot training on pitch control loss, operator failures to provide special instructions, manufacturer and aviation authority failures to account for cable wear, and inadequate consideration of jet blast risks in cable replacement procedures.