Douglas DC-3

During the takeoff roll, the airplane began to drift to the right. Despite the certified flight instructor's and student's attempts, they were unable to stop the yaw and drift. As the airplane was about to depart the runway, the pilots did not reduce the throttles or apply brakes as they felt that it would be safer to attempt to get airborne. After departing the runway surface, the airplane collided with a series of berms, which sheared off the left landing gear and left engine. The right landing gear collapsed, and the airplane came to rest in a nose down attitude. Post accident e examination revealed that the student pilot had inadvertently set the rudder trim to the full right position when he adjusted the rudder pedals during the prestart checks. The rudder trim was in the full right position for the takeoff, and found in the same position upon post accident inspection.

The captain stated that the accident flight was a return flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico, after delivering U.S. Mail. The airplane was empty of cargo at the time of the accident. The first officer was flying the airplane. The takeoff roll and rotation at 84 knots was uneventful until about 100 feet above the ground when the gear was called out to be retracted. At that time, the left engine's rpm dropped from 2,700 to 1,000. He communicated to the first officer that he would be assuming control of the airplane. He then proceeded with verifying that the left engine had failed. Once confirmed, he proceeded with the failed engine check list and feathering the propeller. They advised air traffic control (ATC) of the situation and informed them that they were returning to land. The airplane would not maintain altitude and the airspeed dropped to about 75 knots. The captain stated that he knew the airplane would not make it back to the airport. Instructions were given to the two passengers to don their life vests and prepared for a ditching. The captain elected to perform a controlled flight into the water. All onboard managed to exit the airplane through the cockpit overhead escape hatch onto the life raft as the airplane remained afloat. About ten minutes later the airplane sank nose first straight down. The airplane came to rest at the bottom of the ocean, in about 100 feet of water. The airplane was not recovered. Underwater photos provided by the operator showed the nose and cockpit area caved in, the left engine's propeller was in the feathered position, and the right engine's propeller was in a low pitch position.

The crew stated the airplane was hire by a private individual and had 220 gallons of fuel onboard, and was carrying 6 pieces of granite, weighing 3,200 lbs. The passenger was responsible for the granite during the flight. During takeoff, about 400 feet above the ground, a discrepancy with the left engine manifold pressure was noted, followed by a slight hesitation and mild backfire. Oil was seen leaking from the front nose section of the engine followed by an engine manifold pressure and rpm decrease. Smoke coming from the left engine was observed and reported by the airport controllers. The left engine's propeller failed to feather and the airplane wouldn't maintain altitude. The airplane impacted trees, vehicles, and the right wing struck a home before coming to a stop on the road. A fire ensued immediately after ground impact, all onboard exited without assistance. The fuselage from the cockpit to the tail section melted from the fire. The right wing was damaged by impact and fire, and the right engine remained intact on the wing. The left wing was separated 12 feet from the outboard and the engine separated from the firewall. Both engine's propellers were in the low pitch position. The flaps were full up and the landing gear were retracted. A weight and balance sheet was never furnished. The pieces of granite and limited cargo recovered from the wreckage weighed 3,140 lb. Examination of the airplane revealed all flight controls surface were present and flight control continuity was accounted for and established. No evidence of any pre-impact mechanical discrepancies with the airframe or its systems was found that wound have prevented normal operation of airplane. On December 09, 2004, the left engine's nose section assembly was found with six out of the ten retaining bolts broken. The section was inspected and all ten bolts were replaced with serviceable ones. The assembly of the dose dome section and installation to the engine was performed by the repair station mechanic. The remaining assembling of the engine was completed by the operator's mechanic/pilot. During the left engine post accident examination, the ten bolts securing the nose dome section flange to the stationary reduction gear were fractured with their respective safety wire still intact. The chamber for the propeller feathering oil system was not secured to the plate sections, producing a bypass of the oil for the propeller feathering process. Metal flakes and pieces were observed deposited in the oil breather screen, consistent with the master rod bearing in an advance stage of deterioration. The silver plated master rod bearing had a catastrophic failure. Silver like metal flakes and particles were observed throughout the nose section, reduction gear section, main oil screen, and oil filter housing of the engine. An indication of propeller shaft housing movement was evident. Metal flakes with carbon build up were observed in the propeller shaft support and sleeve assembly. A metallurgical examination of the ten bolts securing the nose dome assembly indicated all were fractured though the threaded section of the shanks. The fatigue zones propagated from the opposite sides toward the center of the bolts consistent with reversed bending of the bolt.

The aircraft, chartered by the Colombian Army, was completing a special flight from Miraflores to Villavicencio with an intermediate stop in San José del Guaviare, carrying three crew members and a certain number of soldiers (around 25 but the exact number could not be confirmed). Shortly after takeoff from runway 20, while in initial climb, the left engine caught fire. The crew elected to return for an emergency landing and initiated a right turn when smoke entered the cabin. Shortly later, the left main gear detached and as the speed dropped, the crew attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed in a wooded area located 2 km from the airport. All occupants were rescued, some were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

The aircraft departed Villavicencio on a cargo flight to Medellin-José María Córdova Airport with one passenger and two pilots on board. While descending to Medellín, the crew was informed about the poor weather conditions at destination (poor visibility due to fog) and decided to divert to Medellín-Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport. On final approach, the aircraft descended too low when it struck a mountain located 13 km short of runway. The aircraft was destroyed and all three occupants were killed.

Following technical problems, a DC-3 operated by Viarco diverted to Las Gaviotas Airport and was grounded. The operator send a second aircraft to Las Gaviotas to pick up the passengers. Shortly after takeoff from runway 24, while in initial climb, the right engine failed and caught fire. The aircraft stalled and crashed in a wooded area, bursting into flames. All 20 occupants were injured, six seriously. The aircraft was destroyed.