Cúcuta-Camilo Daza

The twin engine aircraft departed Cúcuta-Camilo Daza Airport at 1533LT on a charter flight to Yopal, carrying five passengers, three crew members and a load of 2,500 kilos of various goods. About an hour into the flight, while cruising over the El Cocuy National Park, the aircraft encountered unfavorable currents, lost height and crashed in an isolated and mountainous area located about 45 km west of Tame. The wreckage was found on 12 April 1999 and all eight occupants were killed.

The single engine aircraft departed Cúcuta-Camilo Daza Airport at 1106LT and proceeded to the east. While cruising at an insufficient altitude, it struck the slope of a mountain located in the region of Potosí, Venezuela. The wreckage was found six days later, on April 25. All 11 occupants were killed.

Avianca flight 410 was destroyed when it impacted El Espartillo Mountain after takeoff from Cúcuta Airport in Colombia. All 143 occupants sustained fatal injuries. The aircraft, a Boeing 727-21 operated flight AV410 from Bucaramanga to Barranquilla, with en route stops at Cúcuta and Cartagena. Because the originally planned aircraft was not available, HK-1716 was prepared for the flight. This resulted in a departure delay of 2 hours and 30 minutes. The flight landed at Cúcuta at 12:28 local time. At 13:06, the pilot requested clearance to start, but he was told there was a 10-minute delay because of three incoming aircraft. The crew immediately requested clearance for a climb on course ("Why not clear us to climb on course to avoid delaying this flight further? We're: pretty far behind") and the tower granted their request at 13:08: "OK, cleared for engine start, climb on course VMC, report ready to taxi, temperature 28°". This, added to the anomalous presence in the cockpit of another pilot whose loquaciousness continually disrupted the work of all the crew members, affected the way in which the pilot supervised the actions of his co-pilot, who was Pilot Flying. There was no crew briefing, nor did the pilot-in command give any instructions for the VMC departure. Two minutes later the tower controller instructed them to taxi to runway 33. At 13:12 the tower reported, "Cleared to Cartagena via Uniform Whisky 19, Whisky 7, Whisky 10, climb and maintain two six zero after takeoff, climb on course VMC, QNH ....correction transponder Alpha 2216". Take-off clearance was issued at 13:13. The initial climb path followed the extended runway centre line to the inner marker, at which point the aircraft entered a continuous left turn. At 13:17 the pilot said to the copilot, "In any case, start turning right." Subsequently the aircraft struck the peak of El Espartillo at an elevation of 6,343 feet.

The crew departed Barranquilla-Ernesto Cortissoz Airport under VFR mode. En route, weather conditions worsened and while cruising at 11,500 feet, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located near Oroque. The wreckage was found three days later and all four occupants were killed, among them two Mexican employees of the Anson Drilling Company, a Colombian Group specialized in Oil and Petroleum business.

The four engine airplane was descending to Cúcuta-Camilo Daza Airport in limited visibility when, at an altitude of 3,400 meters, it struck the slope of Mt Toledo located about 35 km south from Cúcuta. The airplane was destroyed and all 21 occupants were killed, among them civilians.

After takeoff from Bogotá-El Dorado Airport, while in initial climb, the captain contacted ATC, declared an emergency and was cleared to return. Following hydraulic problems, the landing on runway 12 was completed with the left main gear still retracted. The airplane slid on its left belly then veered off runway to the left and eventually came to rest against a bank. All 57 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. A loud bang in the rear of the cabin was heard after takeoff, followed by warning lights coming on in the cockpit panel. Due to the failure of the hydraulic system, the cabin pressure failed.

The crew departed Cúcuta-Camilo Daza Airport at 1830LT on a cargo flight to Tame. While descending to Tame-General Gabriel Vargas Santos Airport, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions with low clouds. At an altitude of 2,300 feet, the four engine airplane struck the slope of a mountain located about 32 km northwest of Tame Airport. The wreckage was found two days later and all three occupants were killed.

While descending to Cúcuta-Camilo Daza Airport in good weather conditions at an altitude of 7,000 feet, the four engine airplane went out of control and crashed on the slope of Mt San Isidro located near the Colombia - Venezuela border. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 44 occupants were killed.

When landing at Arauca (AUC) after a flight from Paz de Ariporo (PZA) and Tame (TME) a loss of hydraulic fluid was noted on the left main gear hydraulic system. A split hose was changed before the aircraft left for a flight to Cúcuta. Some 5 minutes after takeoff a burning smell and smoke were noticed in the cockpit. It appeared then that the undercarriage was still extended, though the undercarriage indicators in the cockpit didn't show this. The crew elected to divert to Villavicencio and made two low runs over the field to obtain instructions from the chief of maintenance and the airline's instructor. While on final approach to runway 22 the pilot was told by the instructor on the ground to feather the no. 1 engine as a precautionary measure. After passing the threshold at low altitude, power was reapplied and the aircraft turned slowly to the left, lost altitude and crashed in flames.
Source: ASN

For unknown reason, the four engine aircraft landed hard at Cúcuta-Camilo Daza Airport. On touchdown on runway 33, the main landing gear punctured the fuel tanks. The airplane rolled for dozen yards before coming to rest in flames as the fuel leaked and ignited. All 54 occupants were evacuated safely while the aircraft was written off.