Central America

Crashed in unknown circumstances in bushes near Cobán, Guatemala, while engaged in an illegal flight. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and no one was found on the scene. The registration seems to be false.

The twin engine airplane departed Acapulco-General Juan N. Álvarez Airport on a private flight to Cuernavaca, carrying six passengers and one pilot. On final approach to Cuernavaca Airport runway 20, the airplane crashed on a supermarket located in Temixco, some 2 km short of runway. The pilot and two passengers were killed while four other occupants were injured.

The pilot was receiving flight training as a new hire, and the accident occurred during his first flight in the airplane and the first landing. The pilot stated the approach was flown at the upper end of the allowable approach speed, and about 100 ft above the normal glidepath. During the landing, all three of the airplane’s landing gear touched down at the same time, the airplane immediately veered right, and continued off the right side of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right-wing structure. The flight instructor chose an airport with a challenging approach that required a special training program prior to the first landing. The approach procedure requires a left 40° turn then rolling wings level just before touchdown. It is likely that the airplane’s descent rate during landing exceeded the airplane’s capability, which resulted in a hard landing and failure of the right-wing structure.

En route, the pilot encountered engine problems and elected to make an emergency landing on a motorway. Upon landing, the aircraft impacted the road bank, lost its left wing and came to rest. All six occupants evacuated with minor injuries and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

The aircraft departed the Opa Locka Executive Airport (KOPF), Opa Locka, Florida, USA at 7:52 AM EST (1252 UTC) with 2 persons on board enroute to the Chub Cay Int’l Airport. The aircraft was operated by Airway Air Charter INC (Venture Air Solutions INC), a Part 135 certificate holder under Title 14 US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Investigations revealed that the pilot in command arrived at the Opa Locka Airport at approximately 6:30 AM EST and conducted a pre-flight check of the aircraft, subsequently adding 66.5 gallons of 100LL avgas fuel to the main fuel tanks of the aircraft. No fuel was added to the auxiliary tanks. After completion of all pre-flight checks, and gaining clearance from Air Traffic Control, the aircraft departed at approximately 7:52 AM EST. Investigations revealed that the flight was uneventful, until descending into Chub Cay, at about 2,500 feet, when the left engine began to “sputter”. At this point the pilot executed the engine failure checklist, but shortly thereafter, the right engine began to “sputter” also. The pilot then contacted Miami air traffic center and advised of loss of power to both engines, which resulted in the aircraft crashing into waters. The United States Coast Guard along with the Royal Bahamas Defense Force (RBDF) and Police Force (RBPF) were alerted. Joint aerial and marine assets were dispatched and additional assistance was provided by local mariners and pilots flying in the area to conduct search and rescue. Both occupants were located and rescued. They were later airlifted to the United States to receive further medical attention for minor injuries. Image from Google Earth of accident site and distance from Chub Cay Airport The location where the aircraft crashed was identified at coordinates 25° 24.884’ N and 077° 58.030’ W, approximately 4.48 NM west of the Chub Cay International Airport (MYBC), Berry Islands, Bahamas.

After landing on runway 07 at Roatán-Juan Manuel Gálvez Airport, the right main gear collapsed. The airplane veered off runway to the right and came to rest in a grassy area located about 30 metres from the runway. All 20 occupants evacuated safely.

The aircraft departed La Isabela-Dr. Joaquín Balaguer Airport on a charter flight to Orlando, carrying six passengers and three crew members. Shortly after takeoff, the crew informed ATC about technical problems and was cleared to divert to Santo Domingo-Las Américas Airport for an emergency landing. On approach, the aircraft went out of control and crashed, bursting into flames. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all nine occupants were killed, among them the Portorican music artist José Angel Hernández aka Flow La Movie. According to a preliminary report, the crew encountered technical problems with the spoilers and maintenance was performed to change the ground spoiler actuators. After maintenance, the crew completed a ground check and while all spoilers properly deployed on both wings, only the spoilers on the left wing retracted as the spoilers on the right wing remained deployed. The crew failed to notice this asymetry. Immediately after takeoff, the crew reported controllability problems and elected to return but finally decided to divert to Las Américas Airport. The aircraft eventually went out of control and crashed 16 minutes after takeoff.

The pilot, sole on board, departed Tapachula Airport on a local flight to release Mediterranean flies. A flight plan of four hours was filed, with an altitude of 9,500 feet. The flies should be released in an area corresponding to 60 - 100 NM around the Tapachula VOR. Shortly after takeoff from Tapachula Airport Runway 05, while climbing to an altitude of 1,000 feet, the pilot reported engine problems. The aircraft turned to the right then entered an uncontrolled descent until it crashed in a mango plantation. The airplane was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

After an uneventful return flight to Barbuda, the aircraft departed Antigua at 2114 hrs (1714 hrs local) for John A Osborne Airport, Montserrat, with the pilot and six passengers on board. The aircraft cruised at 2,000 ft enroute and the pilot recalled there were good visual meteorological conditions throughout the 19 minute flight. On arriving at Montserrat there were no other aircraft operating in the vicinity of the airport and the pilot positioned the aircraft visually on a downwind leg for Runway 10. The pilot reported he commenced the approach, flying an approach speed of 65 kt, reducing to 60 kt as the aircraft touched down. The runway surface was dry and the pilot described the landing as “smooth”. After the main landing gear touched down, but prior to the nosewheel contacting the runway, the pilot applied the brakes. He reported that the left brake felt “spongy” and did not seem to act, but that the right brake felt normal. The pilot was unable to maintain directional control of the aircraft which veered to the right two seconds after touchdown, departing the runway a further three seconds later. The aircraft continued across the adjacent grassed area before impacting an embankment close to the runway. After the aircraft had come to a stop, the pilot shut down the engines using the normal shut down procedure. The left main gear had collapsed and rendered the left cabin exit unusable. The pilot evacuated through the flight deck door which was on the left of the aircraft. The six passengers were able to evacuate through the right cabin exit. The airport fire service then arrived at the aircraft, less than one minute after the accident.

On final approach to Durango-Guadalupe Victoria Airport following an uneventful flight from San Luis Potosí, the twin engine airplane was unstable. The crew decided to make a sudden descent below the minimum descent altitude without visual contact with the runway, resulting in an initial impact with the runway surface and subsequently with an open drainage ditch located between runway 03/21 and taxiway 'A'. The airplane came to rest upside and burst into flames. One pilot was seriously injured and the second occupant was killed.