Cuba

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Port-au-Prince - Santiago de Cuba - Havana

MSN:

459

YOM:

1995

Flight number:

CRN883

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

25000

Aircraft flight cycles:

34500

Circumstances:

The twin engine aircraft departed Port-au-Prince on a schedule service to Havana with an intermediate stop in Santiago de Cuba, carrying 61 passengers and 7 crew members. The airplane departed Santiago de Cuba-Antonio Maceo Airport at 1644LT and the crew was cleared to climb to his assigned altitude of 18,000 feet. At 1736LT, the crew was cleared to climb to 20,000 feet. During the climb, the Total Air Temperature (TAT) dropped from +3°C to -1°C and the aircraft' speed dropped from 196 knots to 176 knots. At 17:44, at FL200, the ICING caution light illuminated on the instrument panel with an associated chime. This was followed by the illumination of the AOA light several seconds later. At 17:46 the crew toggled the anti-icing switches on the overhead panel and contacted Havana Control to request permission to descent to FL160 due to icing. However, the controller reported conflicting traffic 30 miles ahead. The crew then requested vectors to enable them to descend. Clearance was given to change course from 295° to 330°. At 17:49, with an airspeed of 156 kts, the airplane commenced a right bank. Then suddenly the airplane banked left and right before banking 90° to the left again with a steep nose down attitude. The crew struggled to control the plane, which was banking turning and losing altitude. Out of control, the aircraft crashed in a wooded an hilly terrain. All 68 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

Flight was proceeding normally until it found itself in extreme meteorological conditions that caused the airplane to ice up severely at an altitude of 20,000ft (6,100m). This, in conjunction with errors by the crew in managing the situation, caused the accident.

Crash of an Antonov AN-24RV in Nueva Gerona

Date & Time: Jun 14, 2003 at 1605 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-24

Operator:

Registration:

CU-T1295

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante

Schedule:

Nueva Gerona - Havana

MSN:

2 73 075 08

YOM:

1972

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

After takeoff from Nueva Gerona-Rafael Cabrera Airport runway 23, the crew elected to climb to an altitude of 1,000 feet he encountered technical problems. He contacted ATC and was cleared for an immediate return. Following a 180 turn, the crew completed a flapless approach to runway 05. After landing, the aircraft rolled for about 2,500 metres then overran and came to rest in an artificial lake. All 52 occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

Failure of the hydraulic systems after takeoff for unknown reasons.

Crash of an Embraer EMB-110P Bandeirante in Havana

Date & Time: Dec 6, 2002

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

CU-T1110

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Havana-José Martí (Rancho Boyeros)

Schedule:

Holguin - Havana

MSN:

110-098

YOM:

1976

Location:

La Habana

Country:

Cuba

Region:

Central America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

On final approach to Havana-José Marti-Rancho Boyeros Airport by night, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls. In limited visibility, the aircraft descended too low when it impacted the ground and crashed in a wasteland located less than one km from the runway threshold. All 10 occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 near Santa Clara: 17 killed

Date & Time: Mar 14, 2002 at 1623 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CU-T1020

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Cienfuegos - Caya Coco

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

While cruising at an altitude of 3,000 feet on a charter flight from Cienfuegos to Cayo Coco, the single engine aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a prairie located near Santa Clara. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 17 occupants were killed, among them 6 Canadians, five British, two German while all four crew members were Cuban. It was reported that the left upper wing detached while the aircraft was encountering strong winds.

Crash of an Antonov AN-24RV off Santiago de Cuba: 44 killed

Date & Time: Jul 11, 1997 at 2156 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-24

Operator:

Registration:

CU-T1262

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Santiago de Cuba - Havana

MSN:

27307610

YOM:

1972

Flight number:

CU787

Location:

Santiago de Cuba

Country:

Cuba

Region:

Central America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Santiago de Cuba-Antonio Maceo Airport, while climbing by night at an altitude of 500 feet, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in the sea few hundred metres offshore. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 44 occupants were killed, among them six Spanish and two Brazilian citizens.

Probable cause:

Loss of control following the failure of the left engine for unknown reasons.

Crash of an Antonov AN-26 in Playa Baracoa

Date & Time: Dec 31, 1993

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-26

Operator:

Registration:

CU-T1240

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Test

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Playa Baracoa - Playa Baracoa

MSN:

112 10

YOM:

1981

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew was performing a brake test when control was lost. The aircraft veered off runway and came to rest. There were no injuries but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. The exact date of the mishap remains unknown, somewhere in 1993.

Crash of a Douglas DC-8-61F at Guantánamo Bay NAS

Date & Time: Aug 18, 1993 at 1656 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas DC-8

Operator:

Registration:

N814CK

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Norfolk – Guantánamo Bay

MSN:

46127

YOM:

1969

Flight number:

CB808

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

20727

Captain / Total hours on type:

1527.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

15350

Copilot / Total hours on type:

492

Aircraft flight hours:

43947

Aircraft flight cycles:

18829

Circumstances:

Flight 808 took off from Norfolk at 14:13 for a cargo flight to Guantánamo Bay. The flight and arrival into the Guantánamo terminal area was uneventful. At 16:34, while the flight was descending from FL320, radio contact was established with the Guantánamo radar controller. The radar controller instructed flight 808 to maintain VFR 12 miles off the Cuban coast and report at East Point. The runway in use was runway 10. The flight crew then requested a runway 28 approach, but changed this back to a runway 10 approach a couple of minutes later. Clearance was given at 16:46 with wind reported at 200°/7 knots. The runway 10 threshold was located 0,75 mile East of Cuban airspace, designated by a strobe light, mounted on a Marine Corps guard tower, located at the corner of the Cuban border and the shoreline. On the day of the accident, the strobe light was not operational (both controller and flight crew were not aware of this). The aircraft was approached from the south and was making a right turn for runway 10 with an increasing angle of bank in order to align with the runway. At 200-300 feet agl the wings started to rock towards wings level and the nose pitched up. The right wing appeared to stall, the aircraft rolled to 90deg. angle of bank and the nose pitched down. The aircraft then struck level terrain 1400 feet west of the approach end of the runway and 200 feet north of the extended centreline.

Probable cause:

The impaired judgement, decision-making, and flying abilities of the captain and flight crew due to the effects of fatigue; the captain's failure to properly assess the conditions for landing and maintaining vigilant situational awareness of the airplane while manoeuvring onto final approach; his failure to prevent the loss of airspeed and avoid a stall while in the steep bank turn; and his failure to execute immediate action to recover from a stall. Additional factors contributing to the cause were the inadequacy of the flight and duty time regulations applied to 14 CFR, Part 121, Supplemental Air Carrier, international operations, and the circumstances that resulted in the extended flight/duty hours and fatigue of the flight crew members. Also contributing were the inadequate crew resource management training and the inadequate training and guidance by American International Airways, Inc., to the flight crew for operations at special airports such as Guantanamo Bay; and the Navy's failure to provide a system that would assure that local tower controller was aware of the inoperative strobe light so as to provide the flight crew with such information.

Final Report:

Crash of a Yakovlev Yak-40S2 in Santiago de Cuba: 11 killed

Date & Time: Oct 24, 1990 at 0158 LT

Type of aircraft:

Yakovlev Yak-40

Operator:

Registration:

CU-T1202

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site: