Plane Flipped Over During Water Landing Attempt, All Aboard Rescued

A Twin Otter being operated by Trans Maldivian Airways flipped over during a landing attempt Saturday at the Velana International Airport's waterway.

Seaplane International reports that there were nine passengers and three crew on board the aircraft when the accident occurred. All were rescued before the airplane sank in the lagoon, and suffered only minor injuries.

Seaplane operations were temporarily halted after the incident.

The airline operates more than 40 Twin Otter seaplanes, according to the report. They fly to the surrounding islands from the airport's water terminal. TMA airlines serves more than a half million passengers each year.

According to the Aviation Safety Network, the airplane first flew on May 22, 1979. The aircraft suffered substantial damage in the accident.

The flight originated from the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island Resort at 08:08 hours local time. After the accident the aircraft came to rest with the left hand wing touching the water with an apparently collapsed left hand float attachment.

(Image posted to Twitter by user @AeroChapter)

FMI: aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20170527-1