Country
code

Norte de Santander

Crash of a Basler BT-67 in Ocaña

Date & Time: Apr 30, 2003
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
PNC-212
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
13110
YOM:
1944
Country:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
After landing at Ocaña-Aguas Claras Airstrip, the aircraft was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran and came to rest in a ditch. There were no casualties.

Crash of a Lockheed C-130B Hercules in Ocaña

Date & Time: Jul 3, 1989
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
FAC-1007
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
MSN:
3531
YOM:
1959
Country:
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
For unknown reasons, the four engine aircraft landed hard at Ocaña-Aguas Claras Airport and was damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties.

Crash of a Boeing 727-21 near Cúcuta: 143 killed

Date & Time: Mar 17, 1988 at 1317 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
HK-1716
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Bucaramanga – Cúcuta – Cartagena – Barranquilla
MSN:
18999
YOM:
1966
Flight number:
AV410
Country:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
136
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
143
Captain / Total flying hours:
9727
Captain / Total hours on type:
4050.00
Copilot / Total hours on type:
340
Aircraft flight hours:
43848
Circumstances:
Avianca flight 410 was destroyed when it impacted El Espartillo Mountain after takeoff from Cúcuta Airport in Colombia. All 143 occupants sustained fatal injuries. The aircraft, a Boeing 727-21 operated flight AV410 from Bucaramanga to Barranquilla, with en route stops at Cúcuta and Cartagena. Because the originally planned aircraft was not available, HK-1716 was prepared for the flight. This resulted in a departure delay of 2 hours and 30 minutes. The flight landed at Cúcuta at 12:28 local time. At 13:06, the pilot requested clearance to start, but he was told there was a 10-minute delay because of three incoming aircraft. The crew immediately requested clearance for a climb on course ("Why not clear us to climb on course to avoid delaying this flight further? We're: pretty far behind") and the tower granted their request at 13:08: "OK, cleared for engine start, climb on course VMC, report ready to taxi, temperature 28°". This, added to the anomalous presence in the cockpit of another pilot whose loquaciousness continually disrupted the work of all the crew members, affected the way in which the pilot supervised the actions of his co-pilot, who was Pilot Flying. There was no crew briefing, nor did the pilot-in command give any instructions for the VMC departure. Two minutes later the tower controller instructed them to taxi to runway 33. At 13:12 the tower reported, "Cleared to Cartagena via Uniform Whisky 19, Whisky 7, Whisky 10, climb and maintain two six zero after takeoff, climb on course VMC, QNH ....correction transponder Alpha 2216". Take-off clearance was issued at 13:13. The initial climb path followed the extended runway centre line to the inner marker, at which point the aircraft entered a continuous left turn. At 13:17 the pilot said to the copilot, "In any case, start turning right." Subsequently the aircraft struck the peak of El Espartillo at an elevation of 6,343 feet.
Probable cause:
The accident was the consequence of the following active and passive factors:
1. Active:
A. Personnel factors - Pilot-in-command - Procedures, Regulations and instructions
a) Diverted attention from operation of aircraft and failed to exercise adequate and constant supervision over the performance of his co-pilot;
b) Tolerated inappropriate interference with cockpit discipline by authorized persons with access to the flight deck;
c) Continued VFR flight into IMC.
B. Personnel factor - Non-crew pilot in cockpit - Procedures, regulations and instructions
Interfered constantly with the normal operation of the aircraft, distracting the crew from the efficient execution of their duties.
2. Passive
A. Personnel factor- Crew- Procedures, regulations and instructions: lack of teamwork on the part of the crew, reflected in the failure to coordinate the instructions needed to take off and climb out in VMC using a profile established in accordance with the specific conditions.
B. Other factors - Meeting the schedule: The delays resulting from the change of aircraft for mechanical reasons contributed to the decision by the pilot-in-command to give inappropriate support to company priorities and request to depart, rather than waiting as recommended by the Control Tower, in order to avoid adding to the delays already experienced."

Crash of a De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 in El Poleo: 2 killed

Date & Time: Oct 11, 1987
Operator:
Registration:
HK-2920
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Ocaña – El Poleo
MSN:
419
YOM:
1974
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
While approaching El Poleo, the crew encountered limited visibility due to poor weather conditions. On final, the aircraft was too low and struck the top of a hill located few km from the landing area. Both pilots were killed while all seven passengers were rescued.

Crash of a De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 near Oroque: 4 killed

Date & Time: Dec 19, 1979
Registration:
HK-1710-W
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Barranquilla - Cúcuta
MSN:
252
YOM:
1969
Country:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The crew departed Barranquilla-Ernesto Cortissoz Airport under VFR mode. En route, weather conditions worsened and while cruising at 11,500 feet, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located near Oroque. The wreckage was found three days later and all four occupants were killed, among them two Mexican employees of the Anson Drilling Company, a Colombian Group specialized in Oil and Petroleum business.

Crash of a Douglas C-54D-10-DC Skymaster on Mt Toledo: 21 killed

Date & Time: Dec 18, 1979
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
FAC-1106
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Arauca - Cúcuta
MSN:
10853
YOM:
1945
Country:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
16
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
21
Circumstances:
The four engine airplane was descending to Cúcuta-Camilo Daza Airport in limited visibility when, at an altitude of 3,400 meters, it struck the slope of Mt Toledo located about 35 km south from Cúcuta. The airplane was destroyed and all 21 occupants were killed, among them civilians.

Crash of a Douglas C-47 near Sardinata: 4 killed

Date & Time: May 3, 1975 at 0947 LT
Operator:
Registration:
FAC-663
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Schedule:
Ocaña – Cúcuta
Country:
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
3
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Ocaña at 0923LT for an ETA in Cúcuta at 0955LT. This flight was operated for the first time. About eight minutes before ETA, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain located near Sardinata. All three passengers were injured while all four crew members were killed.

Crash of a Vickers 785D Viscount near Cúcuta: 44 killed

Date & Time: Jun 8, 1974 at 1427 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
HK-1058
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Bogotá – Bucaramanga – Cúcuta
MSN:
380
YOM:
1958
Flight number:
TAO514
Country:
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
38
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
44
Circumstances:
While descending to Cúcuta-Camilo Daza Airport in good weather conditions at an altitude of 7,000 feet, the four engine airplane went out of control and crashed on the slope of Mt San Isidro located near the Colombia - Venezuela border. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 44 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Aircraft structure factor - tail unit, involving the failure in flight of the tailplane spar, so that the left tailplane and elevator became detached and control of the aircraft was lost. An examination of the aircraft wreckage revealed that the upper flange of the left tailplane spar had sustained a fatigue fracture, two distinct areas being visible, namely the area of progressive fatigue and the area of instantaneous failure. This evidence obviously explained the accident, since the already weakened structure was not able to withstand the loads imposed when the aircraft entered an area of turbulence. Laboratory tests subsequently carried out confirmed the failure.

Crash of a De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver near Ocaña: 5 killed

Date & Time: Feb 22, 1968 at 0850 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
HK-559
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
MSN:
1554
YOM:
1964
Country:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The single engine aircraft departed Curumaní at 0649LT on a taxi flight to Cucutá. Two hours later, the pilot declared an emergency when the airplane crashed in the region of Ocaña. All five occupants were killed. The registration is not confirmed.

Crash of a Curtiss C-46A-50-CU Commando in Cúcuta: 4 killed

Date & Time: Oct 4, 1965 at 1105 LT
Type of aircraft:
Registration:
HK-613
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Cúcuta – Arauca
MSN:
30465
YOM:
1944
Country:
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
1
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The flight was a non-scheduled domestic cargo flight. After boarding 162 crates of beer and one passenger at Cúcuta the crew requested clearance to takeoff for Arauca at 10:42. Clearance was given by the control tower for runway 20 with a south-southeast wind at 18 kt. The aircraft used more than 3/4 of the runway for takeoff and initiated a turn over the city, returning over the aerodrome to gain height. At 10:58 hours it reported departure to the southeast, climbing in visual meteorological conditions to 7500 ft and estimating Santo Domingo at 11:13. When the aircraft was at approximately 4500 to 5000 ft, flames were seen coming from the no. 2 engine. The aircraft attempted to return to Cúcuta. On its way back the starboard wing and engine were seen tearing off from the aircraft. The rest of the aircraft immediately started to roll slowly to the left and moments later struck the ground on Cerro del Espinazo. All four occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The accident was attributed to a maintenance error consisting of inadequate service and inspection of part of, or systems of the starboard engine, giving rise to a fire in an undetermined part of the accessories section of that engine. A contributing factor was a maintenance error consisting of failure to comply with Technical Directive No. 62-10-2 (Aerocivil C-46-39).
Final Report: