Crash of a De Havilland DHC-8-202 in Bogotá

Date & Time: Jan 28, 2008 at 2302 LT
Operator:
Registration:
HK-3997
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Maracaibo – Bogotá
MSN:
391
YOM:
1994
Flight number:
ARE053
Country:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
37
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
14992
Captain / Total hours on type:
5552.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
555
Copilot / Total hours on type:
6
Aircraft flight hours:
19565
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Maracaibo, the crew completed a night approach and landing on runway 13L at Bogotá-El Dorado Airport. After touchdown, the crew initiated the braking procedure but due to a technical issue on the left engine, the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran, went through a perimeter fence and came to rest in a grassy area with its left main gear folded. All 41 occupants were evacuated, among them two passengers were seriously injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Carrying out a landing with an unresolved issue on the left engine, causing the aircraft to be unable to stop within the remaining distance available. The failure to correct the maintenance reports in a satisfactory manner and the failure to properly follow-up on repetitive entries were considered as contributing factors.
Final Report:

Crash of a Beechcraft B200 Super King Air in Bogotá: 7 killed

Date & Time: Oct 11, 2007 at 2022 LT
Registration:
HK-4422
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Bogotá – Leticia
MSN:
BB-377
YOM:
1978
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Captain / Total flying hours:
4088
Captain / Total hours on type:
324.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
2127
Copilot / Total hours on type:
202
Aircraft flight hours:
10934
Circumstances:
The twin engine aircraft departed Bogotá-El Dorado Airport runway 13L on an ambulance flight to Leticia, carrying three doctors and two pilots. Shortly after takeoff, during initial climb, the crew contacted ATC and declared an emergency. The aircraft rolled to the right then entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed onto several houses located in the Fontibón neighborhood, bursting into flames. All five occupants were killed as well as two people on the ground.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined.
Final Report:

Crash of a Let L-410UVP-E10A near Cubarral: 17 killed

Date & Time: Oct 8, 2007 at 1550 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
HK-4055
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Villavicencio - Uribe
MSN:
90 25 21
YOM:
1991
Location:
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
15
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
17
Captain / Total flying hours:
5550
Captain / Total hours on type:
432.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
287
Copilot / Total hours on type:
134
Aircraft flight hours:
2435
Circumstances:
The twin engine aircraft departed Villavicencio-La Vanguardia Airport at 1530LT on a flight to Uribe with 15 passengers and 2 pilots on board. En route, while cruising in poor weather conditions, the crew reported his ETA in Uribe at 1550LT. At an altitude of 11,800 feet, the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain and disintegrated on impact. The wreckage was found 3 days later on Mt Páramo El Nevado, about 33 km northeast of Cubarral. The aircraft was totally destroyed upon impact and all 17 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Controlled flight into terrain after the crew decided to continue the flight under VFR mode in IMC conditions. The following contributing factors were identified:
- Erroneous navigation,
- Low situational awareness regarding the geographical orientation at the beginning and during the flight,
- Failure to observe the warnings of closeness with terrain for three minutes, issued by the TAWS equipment.
Final Report:

Ground fire of an Antonov AN-32B in Mitú

Date & Time: Aug 27, 2007 at 0950 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
HK-4117
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Villavicencio – Mitú
MSN:
29 09
YOM:
1992
Country:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The aircraft completed a cargo flight from Villavicencio to Mitú, carrying four crew members and a load consisting of fuel drums. After all fuel drums were offloaded by ground crew, the pilot contacted the fire brigade because fuel leaked on the cabin floor and around the aircraft. Airport firefighters approached to attend the event but were not allowed the use or foam or water due to electrical and electronic equipment that could be affected by the liquid. After starting the APU and the right engine for the flight back to Villavicencio, an explosion occurred. The crew shut down the engines and evacuated the aircraft. Firefighters were unable to extinguish the rapidly developing fire and the aircraft was totally destroyed.
Probable cause:
Lack of adequate and effective procedures for fuel handling by the company and crew. Non-compliance by the crew of the aircraft, of the recommendations made by the Fire Fighting Service Airport and Control Tower.
Final Report:

Crash of an Antonov AN-26B-100 in Pasto

Date & Time: Aug 22, 2007 at 1510 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
HK-4389
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Cali – Villagarzón
MSN:
108 03
YOM:
1981
Country:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
50
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
12243
Captain / Total hours on type:
1133.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
822
Copilot / Total hours on type:
595
Aircraft flight hours:
17124
Circumstances:
En route from Calí to Villagarzón, the crew contacted ATC and reported technical problems with the left engine. After being cleared to divert to Pasto-Antonio Nariño Airport, the crew modified his route and started the descent. On approach, the flaps were lowered at 38° and the speed was reduced to 250 km/h. After the gears were selected down, the speed increased to 270 km/h so full flaps was selected. After touchdown on runway 02 which is 2,312 metres long, the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran, went down a 15 metres high embankment and came to rest, broken in two and with its left wing torn off. All 53 occupants were rescued, among them few were injured.
Probable cause:
Taking into account that the operator failed to cooperate with the investigators by sending the necessary documentation on the the anti skid system, the braking system, as well as the propellers and did not manage the reading of the flight recorders; the available evidence establishes as POSSIBLE CAUSE the failure of one or some of the related systems above; in addition to the inadequate operation during the single-engine landing, which finally produced the departure of the aircraft at the end of the runway.
Final Report:

Crash of an Embraer ERJ-190-100 IGW in Santa Marta

Date & Time: Jul 17, 2007 at 1519 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
HK-4455
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Cali - Santa Marta
MSN:
190-00076
YOM:
2007
Flight number:
RPB7330
Country:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
54
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Captain / Total flying hours:
13737
Captain / Total hours on type:
238.00
Copilot / Total flying hours:
2148
Copilot / Total hours on type:
233
Aircraft flight hours:
998
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Cali, the crew started the approach to Santa Marta-Simón Bolívar Airport runway 01. On final approach, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls, turbulences and windshear. As the aircraft was unstable, the captain decided to abandon the approach and initiated a go-around procedure. Few minutes later, the crew started a second approach. Still unstable, the aircraft landed too far down the wet runway 01 at an excessive speed, about 490 metres from the runway end. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the aircraft overran, went through a fence, collided with pylons, went down a concrete embankment and came to rest with the cockpit in the sea. All 60 occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
 Continuation of the approach and landing without being stabilized on finals with an excessive speed caused the aircraft to cross the threshold of the runway with an additional 41 knots during a low angle approach, which caused the aircraft wheels to touch down positively when there were only 490 meters of runway available, an insufficient distance to stop the aircraft within the runway.
The following contributing factors were identified:
- Lack of situational awareness regarding the approach and landing speed, after having disconnected the automated systems of the aircraft.
- Omission of call outs by the Pilot Monitoring to warn the pilot in control of speeding in order to persuade him to execute a missed approach.
- The delay in initiating a missed approach procedure / interrupted landing in circumstances that indicated the desirability to take such a measure during a destabilized approach.
- Misperception to believe that the aircraft could be stopped within the limited remaining available runway without analyzing the status and distance without having positive contact due to speeding.
Final Report:

Crash of a Comp Air CA-8 in Cali

Date & Time: Mar 8, 2007 at 0653 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
N2411B
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Cali – Medellín
MSN:
S2000
Country:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed shortly after take off from Cali-Alfonso Bonilla Aragón Airport, bound for Medellín. Both occupants were injured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Rockwell Grand Commander 690A in Valledupar: 4 killed

Date & Time: Jan 13, 2007 at 2122 LT
Operator:
Registration:
YV-246CP
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Maracaibo – Panama City
MSN:
690-11278
YOM:
1976
Country:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Captain / Total flying hours:
18829
Captain / Total hours on type:
781.00
Aircraft flight hours:
8197
Circumstances:
The twin engine aircraft departed Maracaibo Airport on a charter flight to Panama City with three passengers and one pilot on board. While cruising over the Sierra de Perija between Venezuela and Colombia, the pilot informed ATC about technical problems. Shortly later, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a mountainous terrain near Valledupar, bursting into flames. All four occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the loss of control could not be determined.
Final Report:

Crash of a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan near Tolemaida AFB: 3 killed

Date & Time: Nov 22, 2006 at 0720 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
FAC-5054
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Medellín - Tolemaida AFB
MSN:
208B-0285
YOM:
1991
Country:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The single engine aircraft was on a routine flight from Medellín to Tolemaida AFB with 3 crew members on board. On approach in poor visibility (mist), the aircraft struck the slope of Mt La Siberia located few km from the airbase and was destroyed. All three occupants were killed.

Crash of a Boeing 727-23F in Leticia: 6 killed

Date & Time: Nov 18, 2006 at 2107 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
HK-3667X
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Bogotá – Leticia
MSN:
19430
YOM:
1966
Country:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
6
Captain / Total flying hours:
8036
Copilot / Total flying hours:
6617
Aircraft flight hours:
66192
Circumstances:
The Boeing 727 departed Bogotá-El Dorado Airport on a night cargo flight to Leticia, carrying 3 passengers, 3 crew members and a load of 13,166 kilos of fish. While descending to Leticia-Alfredo Vásquez Cobo Airport, the crew was informed about the weather conditions at destination with a visibility down to 4 km with local patches of fog. On approach, the crew asked ATC to improve the runway lights intensity as the runway 21 is not equipped with approach lights. On short final, at a height of about 150 feet, the aircraft collided with a television antenna and crashed in a wooded area located 3,7 km short of runway 21, bursting into flames. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all six occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Following a flight under IFR mode, the crew decided to continue the approach by night and limited visibility under VFR mode, without meeting the minimum requirements for this type of operation. This decision led the aircraft descending at an unsafe altitude until it collided with a television antenna and crashed. The following contributing factors were identified:
- Poor approach planning,
- Poor judgment,
- Violation of IFR procedures,
- The crew's inability to circumvent the obstacle on the ground by encountering unforeseen circumstances beyond their capacity.
Final Report: