Central America

Shortly after takeoff from Flamingo Bay, the single engine aircraft crashed in the sea few dozen metres offshore. The pilot was injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

On short final to Mexicali Airport, the aircraft encountered windshear and lost height. The undercarriage struck the ground short of runway threshold and were torn off. The aircraft landed on its belly and slid for few dozen metres before coming to rest on the runway. There were no injuries but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

On final approach to Quetzaltenango-Los Altos Airport, the pilot encountered engine problems. He completed a belly landing in a wheatfield located few km from the airport. The pilot escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The twin engine aircraft departed Canouan Island Airport at 1842LT on a short flight to Kingstown, Saint Vincent & Grenadines, carrying one passenger and one pilot. Shortly after takeoff, the pilot was instructed to report once passing over Bequia Island. Few minutes later, after passing Bequia Island, the pilot contacted ATC and reported he was at the altitude of 1,100 feet with an ETA in Kingstown in four minutes. At 1853LT, the aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in the sea. The next morning, few debris were found floating on water and no trace of both occupants was ever found. The passenger was the Director of American Eagle for the Canouan Island. All SAR operations were abandoned few days later and the wreckage was not found.

The crew departed Cancún Airport for a routine maritime patrol flight over the Gulf of Mexico. After 5 hours of flight, while returning to his base and approaching the coast, the crew informed ATC that an engine failed. Few seconds later, the second engine stopped as well. The crew reduced his altitude and ditched the aircraft 3,5 km off Progreso, some 40 km north of Mérida. All 7 occupants were rescued while the aircraft was lost.

The single engine aircraft departed Orange Walk Airport at 0700LT for a 30 miles flight to Corozal, North Belize. After 15 minutes, the pilot encountered engine problems and elected to ditch the aircraft about 4 miles south of High Bluff. The aircraft sank in shallow water (about 5 feet deep). All 6 occupants were rescued by the crew of a boat.

The pilot, sole on board, departed San José-Alajuela-Juan Santamaria Airport at 0500LT on a positioning flight to Liberia-Daniel Oduber Quiros Airport located in the Guanacaste cordillera. About 30 minutes into the flight, the single engine aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in the Monteverde National Park. The aircraft was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

On final approach to Punta Pájaros Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions (stormy weather). He initiated a go-around and was trying to gain height when the single engine aircraft collided with bushes and crashed in a lagoon. All 14 occupants evacuated with minor injuries while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. Weather conditions were marginal at the time of the accident.

The single engine aircraft departed Monterrey-Del Norte Airport at 0827LT on a private flight to Acapulco, carrying six passengers and one pilot. About three hours and a half into the flight, while in cruising altitude, the pilot contacted ATC, declared an emergency and was cleared to divert to Toluca Airport. On final approach, the engine failed. The aircraft stalled, collided with a fence and eventually crashed in a deconstruction site located 1,600 metres short of runway 15. Two passengers were seriously injured while five other occupants escaped with minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. Few hours later, one of the survivor, the Mexican actor Pablo Santos aged 19, died from his injuries, and a second survivor passed away a day later. It was later reported by the authorities that Pablo Santos was seating on the floor and was not strapped.

The captain stated that the accident flight was a return flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico, after delivering U.S. Mail. The airplane was empty of cargo at the time of the accident. The first officer was flying the airplane. The takeoff roll and rotation at 84 knots was uneventful until about 100 feet above the ground when the gear was called out to be retracted. At that time, the left engine's rpm dropped from 2,700 to 1,000. He communicated to the first officer that he would be assuming control of the airplane. He then proceeded with verifying that the left engine had failed. Once confirmed, he proceeded with the failed engine check list and feathering the propeller. They advised air traffic control (ATC) of the situation and informed them that they were returning to land. The airplane would not maintain altitude and the airspeed dropped to about 75 knots. The captain stated that he knew the airplane would not make it back to the airport. Instructions were given to the two passengers to don their life vests and prepared for a ditching. The captain elected to perform a controlled flight into the water. All onboard managed to exit the airplane through the cockpit overhead escape hatch onto the life raft as the airplane remained afloat. About ten minutes later the airplane sank nose first straight down. The airplane came to rest at the bottom of the ocean, in about 100 feet of water. The airplane was not recovered. Underwater photos provided by the operator showed the nose and cockpit area caved in, the left engine's propeller was in the feathered position, and the right engine's propeller was in a low pitch position.