Cubana de Aviación

The aircraft was engaged in a local crop spraying mission, carrying three passengers and a crew of two. Shortly after takeoff from Pinar del Río-La Coloma Airport, while climbing in a limited visibility due to fog conditions, the single engine aircraft struck a water tower and crashed. All five occupants were killed.

The crew was completing a local training flight at Camagüey Airport. While flying in the vicinity of the airport, the crew encountered an unexpected situation and it was decided to attempt an emergency landing in a field. On touchdown, the left wing was torn off and the airplane came to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was written off.

A multiple engine failure forced the crew to attempt an emergency landing near Cienfuegos. The aircraft crash landed in a field and came to rest. Two passengers were killed and two others were injured. All other 89 occupants escaped uninjured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

While completing a combined exercise with the Cuban Army, the airplane was mistakenly shot down by a surface-to-air S-75 Dvina missile. Out of control, the airplane dove into the ground and crashed in a field near Jaruco. All five crew members were killed.

A minute after its takeoff from runway 19, while climbing, the airplane went out of control and crashed into the sea less than one km off shore. The aircraft was destroyed and all 22 occupants were killed.

Five minutes after takeoff from Havana Airport, five hijackers attempted to enter the flight deck. Two guards tried to stop the hijackers and shots were fired. During the struggle the captain was killed as well as one hijackers and a guard. The copilot was able to complete an emergency landing in a sugar cane field. The undercarriage were sheared off and the airplanes came to rest. All other occupants were evacuated safely.

Flight 495, a scheduled flight, departed Miami at 2200 hours en route to Varadero, a distance of about 200 miles, estimating its time of arrival at 2249 hours. It carried 16 passengers and a crew of 4. As there was no news of the flight at 2249 hours, an alert was declared. It was subsequently learned that the aircraft had crashed over 400 miles from Varadero at approximately 0210 hours in the Nipe Bay, Central Preston, Oriente Province, killing all aboard except 3 passengers. The aircraft left Miami with 1,600 gallons of fuel, total endurance thus being 3.47 hours, giving ample reserve for the intended flight. It was later proved that impact with the water occurred at 0210 hours. Thus, the aircraft had flown 23 minutes beyond the estimated endurance. Even though fuel on board always exceeds the amount required for a given flight, at the time of impact only 8 gallons remained in the tanks. According to testimony of residents in the accident area, the aircraft circled over the spot a number of times, finally making a wide turn, passing over the town of Antilla in the direction of Preston Airport, on final approach. It suddenly fell into the bay at about 400 metres from the coastline and 2 km from the airport. The direction of travel was reversed by the force of the impact with the water, and the aircraft travelled about 200 metres, furrowing the muddy bottom, which is at a depth of 2 fathoms.
After salvage the following evidence was found:
- The right wing was intact over its entire length, but the left wing tip was not found,
- Engines Nos. 3 and 4 were in perfect condition; engine No, 1 was lacking the hub and propeller; the propeller blades on No. 2 were bent backward,
- The tail section was completely separated from the fuselage, floating about 80 metres from the rest of the aircraft,
- When the cockpit was salvaged intact, it was found that all routine landing operations had been carried out.
The above information indicated that the pilot attempted to raise the aircraft's nose but was too near the water, which the tail hit, parting from the fuselage over a length of about 4 metres.

On touchdown, an undercarriage collapse. The airplane went out of control and came to rest, damaged beyond repair. There were no injuries.

Shortly after takeoff from Saint George's-Kindley Field Airport, while climbing by night, the four engine christened 'Estrella de Oriente' stalled and crashed into the sea about 2,5 miles northeast of the airfield. A crew member and three passengers were rescued while 37 other occupants were killed.

While cruising at an altitude of 4,000 feet under visual flight rules, the Cuban four engine aircraft christened 'Estrella de Cuba' collided with a USN Beechcraft SNB-1 Kansan. Registered 39939, the twin engine aircraft was carrying a crew of four who were performing a training sortie from Key West NAS. On impact, the Kansan dove into the sea and crashed few miles off shore while the DC-4 continued for few seconds and then crashed into the sea 1,7 miles from the initial point of impact. Both aircraft were destroyed and all 43 occupants were killed. Weather conditions were good at the time of the collision.