Panama City

After takeoff from Jacksonville-Executive at Craig Airport, while climbing in marginal weather conditions, the pilot-in-command lost control of the airplane that entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed. All three occupants were killed. The airplane was completing a special flight to Panama City on behalf of the Sheriff's office.

En route from Pompano Beach to Panama City, Florida, the airplane crashed under unknown circumstances into the Gulf of Mexico. SAR operations were initiated but no trace of the aircraft nor the pilot was ever found.

En route from Panama City to Bogotá, the crew was forced to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft crash landed in the Unguía lagoon and came to rest. Both pilots escaped uninjured while the aircraft was written off. It was reported that the crew was not authorized to enter the Colombian airspace.

While descending to DeFuniak Springs Airport, the pilot descended very low and completed three low passes above his parent's house. He then continued to the airport when the airplane that crashed in flames. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.

While on a cargo flight from Panama City to Oranjestad, Aruba, the crew reported a smell of burning in the cabin and elected to divert to Pivijay Airport for an emergency landing. After touchdown on a 850 meters long runway, the airplane was unable to stop within the remaining distance and overran. It struck a perimeter fence and came to rest in a field. While both pilots were unhurt, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

On an ILS approach to Ponta Pelada AFB on a cargo flight from Panama City to São Paulo, the airplane was not properly aligned and was too high on the glide. The captain overcorrected, causing the airplane to adopt a high sink rate. In a nose-down attitude, the nose gear struck a concrete wall located 12 meters short of runway threshold and was torn off. The airplane landed on its nose and slid for about 300 meters before coming to rest. All three crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The aircraft was being operated as an international cargo flight by Compania Ecuatoriana de Aviacion. The accident occurred during the initial climb, following an instrument takeoff on Runway 27R at Miami International Airport. The flight was en route,from Miami to Panama City, Panama, the first leg of a flight which was to terminate at Quito, Ecuador. The two pilots, the only occupants of the aircraft, were killed, and the aircraft was demolished by impact and post impact ground fire. The crew first requested a takeoff clearance at 0621 but because fog reduced visibility to one-eighth mile, the tower controller delayed issuance of the clearance until 0722 when the visibility was reported to be one quarter mile, the visibility minimum the pilot had stated he needed for takeoff. The crew's acknowledgment of this clearance was the last recorded transmission from the flight. Following liftoff, the aircraft was observed flying in a level flight attitude at an altitude of approximately 50 feet near the western end of Runway 27R, which was 10,500 feet long. The landing gear was retracted. As the observers watched the aircraft, they saw the nose drop slightly, check, and then the aircraft descended to earth. Impact occurred 279 feet north and 230 feet beyond the western end of the takeoff runway. The aircraft continued 89 feet beyond the initial impact point, struck a concrete abutment and burned.

High over the Panama jungle one August afternoon flew a twin engine plane with seven people aboard. The six passengers had been surveying for a possible sea-level canal across the Darien Province of Panama. They were tired and very anxious to get back to Panama City. Then one engine sputtered and quit. They became alarmed but relaxed when they noticed the plane was holding altitude. A small jungle airfield was not far away. The passengers saw the airstrip and they felt sure there would be a safe landing. Soon the plane was past it and the passengers wanted to know what was going on. The pilot said, "I am going to fly to Panama City." The passengers begged him to land and he refused. The pilot noticing the concern of the passengers and wanting to get the plane back to Panama City for repairs, tried to start the dead engine. With all hopeful eyes fixed on the prop, it turned over a few times. Suddenly the other engine stopped. Down they went into the mangrove swamp. Later in the afternoon a report went out that a twin engine plane was missing. There were two radios on board with direct connection to the home office and an air traffic control tower. The weather was clear. No one heard any distress call. Pilots in other planes flew over jungle airfields in the area and did not see the missing plane. The search went on for five days when one pilot saw something shinning for a moment in the mangrove swamp. He circled around again, hoping to get another glimpse of whatever it was he saw. When he was over the spot, the pilot saw the missing plane hidden under the jungle trees. Within minutes, the U.S. Air Force flew a rescue party in by helicopter. The passengers were badly broken up and hungry, but still alive. After crashing, the pilot stepped out of the plane and sank up to his waist in the muddy swamp. He lived in the mud for three days until he died. The passengers were unable to help because of their broken bones and they feared the same fate. The pilot was trying to save the company money by flying the plane back to Panama City. If he landed at a jungle airfield, the cost of repairs would skyrocket. Men, tools, and parts would have to be flown to the plane.

Source : Robert L. Webb, Goose Creek, South Carolina

Few minutes after takeoff from Panama City-Tocumen Airport, while climbing, the airplane went out of control and crashed into the sea some 40 km offshore. The aircraft was destroyed and all 7 occupants were killed.

The flight was a non-scheduled international cargo flight carrying wild animals from Iquitos, Peru, to Miami, U.S.A., with intermediate stops at Cali, Colombia, and Panama City, Panama. It departed Iquitos at 1325 hours GMT and reached Cali, Colombia at 1725 hours. There it was refuelled and repairs were carried out on Nos. 2 and 3 engines. It then took off for Panama City at 2120 hours, arriving there for refuelling at 2320 hours. At 2333 hours local time, the aircraft took off normally from runway 03 for Miami. One minute later, the tower controller looked towards the aircraft before authorizing a change of frequency and saw large flames at a heading of approximately 040° but was unable to say if the aircraft was still airborne or had just crashed. He immediately gave the alarm and enquired whether the air traffic cont;roller still had radar contact with the air- craft, On receiving a negative reply, he notified the airport authority that the aircraft had crashed. It was subsequently found that the aircraft had struck a mahogany tree at a height of about 70 ft above the ground and then several others before corning to rest on uneven ground. The accident occurred 2.5 miles north-east from the end of runway 03 at Tocumen Airport. The airplane was destroyed and all seven occupants were killed.