Venezuela

On approach to Cumaná-Antonio Jose de Sucre Airport, the twin engine aircraft crashed 8 km short of runway. One passenger was seriously injured while five other occupants were killed, among them German tourists.

During the takeoff roll at Santa Bárbara de Zulia-Las Delicias Airport, the tyre on the left main gear burst. Control was lost and the aircraft veered off runway to the left. While contacting soft ground, the undercarriage were torn off and the aircraft came to rest few dozen meters further. All five occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The crew was completing a positioning flight from Caracas Intl Airport to Charallave-Óscar Machado Zuloaga. On descent, the crew was informed that the ILS glideslope for runway 10 was unserviceable so the captain decided to improvise an unapproved LOC/DME approach by night. The copilot was the pilot-in-command when, at an altitude of 2,500 feet on approach, the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located 9,3 km from the airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all four occupants were killed.

After departure from Maracaibo-La Chinita Airport, the crew followed a wrong heading to Santa Bárbara de Zulia (153° instead of 193°), which caused the aircraft to fly to the southeast over the lake of Maracaibo. While cruising at an altitude of 16,500 feet, the crew was cleared by ATC to descend to 5,500 feet. The crew reported to ATC that the VOR seemed to be inoperative but this was denied by the air traffic controller. At an altitude of 9,900 feet, the captain realized something was wrong about the heading selection, stopped the descent and initiated a right turn to gain height when the GPWS alarm sounded. Shortly later, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt La Aguada (3,320 meters high) located about 27 km northeast of Valera, some 170 km northeast of Santa Bárbara de Zulia. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 45 occupants were killed.

A twin engine training plane operated by the Venezuelan Navy crashed few days ago. One pilot was killed while the second escaped with minor injuries. Funerals were organized by the Armada Venezolana and a Casa 212 was chartered to carry the coffin to Santa Barbara. On board were soldiers, officers, friends and family members of the deceased pilot. En route, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and was cleared by ATC to divert to Mérida-Alberto Carnevalli Airport. Few minutes later, while cruising in clouds, the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain located 55 km from Mérida Airport. A passenger was injured while 22 other occupants were killed. The passenger who survived was the second pilot on the first accident few days ago. He survived two crashes in a week.

After takeoff from La Carlota-General Francisco de Miranda, while climbing in marginal weather conditions, the twin engine aircraft struck the wires of a cable car and crashed on a hilly and wooded terrain. All four occupants were injured.

After takeoff from Caracas-Maiquetía-Simon Bolivar Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls. In limited visibility, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt El Junquito located near the village of La Sabaneta, about 25 km from the airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all 25 occupants were killed, among them several civilians.

The pilots were making a visual approach at night to RWY 10 from a right downwind. The pilots descended the airplane through a scud layer on final and initially contacted the ground well short of the runway. The pilot pitched up and added full power, but one main gear separated as it hit the side of the hill below the runway. The airplane then rolled inverted and impacted the runway threshold upside down. Still inverted, it slid across the grass onto an adjacent taxiway with a substantial external fire. Both pilots and one passenger were killed. Four passengers survived with various injuries. The passenger who was killed was Joseph T. Nall, NTSB member.

The crew departed Puerto Ordaz on a local training flight when the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances shortly after takeoff. A crew member was injured while three others 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.