Aero Caribbean Flight 883

Aero Caribbean Flight 883
CU-T1549, the aircraft involved in the accident, at Baracoa Airport on October 4, 2010, exactly one month before the crash.
Accident
Date 4 November 2010
Summary Icing (Investigation is still open as some questions are unanswered)
Site Guasimal, Sancti Spíritus, Cuba
21°44′39″N 79°28′16″W / 21.744194°N 79.470978°W / 21.744194; -79.470978Coordinates: 21°44′39″N 79°28′16″W / 21.744194°N 79.470978°W / 21.744194; -79.470978
Aircraft
Aircraft type ATR-72-212
Operator Aero Caribbean
IATA flight No. 7L883
ICAO flight No. CRN883
Call sign AEROCARIBBEAN 883
Registration CU-T1549
Flight origin Antonio Maceo Airport, Santiago de Cuba
Destination José Martí International Airport, Havana
Passengers 61
Crew 7
Fatalities 68 (all)
Survivors 0

Aero Caribbean Flight 883 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, to Havana, Cuba. On 4 November 2010, the Aero Caribbean ATR-72-212 operating the route crashed in the central Cuban province of Sancti Spíritus, killing all 61 passengers and 7 crew members aboard.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an ATR-72-212, registration CU-T1549,[1] in use with Aero Caribbean since October 2006.[2] It was delivered from the production line in 1995 to its first owner, Simmons Airlines and also with Continental Express as the second one. The Cuba-based company, Aero Caribbean, was the third owner and bought it in 2006.[3] According to the manufacturer, the plane had accumulated almost 25,000 flight hours in more than 34,500 flights.[2] Aero Caribbean is wholly owned by the government of Cuba.[4]

Crash

The flight originated in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.[5] The aircraft departed Santiago de Cuba en route to Havana around 16:50 local time (20:50 UTC).[6] It was the last flight out of Santiago de Cuba airport before it was closed because of the approach of Hurricane Tomas.[7] At 17:42, the aircraft crashed near the town of Guasimal in Sancti Spíritus province, some 210 miles (340 km) southeast of Havana, after issuing an emergency call.[6] Witnesses said the plane was "flying low and appeared unstable ... pouring out smoke and fire", before hearing an explosion.[2]

Medical facilities in Guasimal were put on alert to prepare for emergency patients. However, by midnight they were told to stand down as no survivors were expected.[2]

The accident is the joint deadliest accident involving the ATR 72 (American Eagle Flight 4184 also killed 68 people).[1]

Search and recovery

In order to allow access to the crash site, rescue workers had to use bulldozers to plow through thick vegetation.[8] The aircraft was completely destroyed by the impact and resulting explosion, and all the victims' bodies were badly burned.[9] Investigators believe that the passengers had no time to react because all bodies were found in their own seats, which helped investigators with identifications.[10] The wreckage burned for hours after the crash.[11] The recovered bodies were to be sent to Cuba's Institute of Legal Medicine for identification.[2]

The day after the crash, on 5 November, rescue workers recovered the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. They were turned over to investigators for inspection and analysis.[2]

Passengers and crew

The passengers and crew were of various nationalities.

Nationality Crew Passengers Total
Cuba Cuban 7[2] 33[2] 40
Argentina Argentine – 10[12] 10
Mexico Mexican – 7[13] 7
Netherlands Dutch – 3[14] 3
Australia Australian – 2[15] 2
France French – 1[16] 1
Germany German – 1[12] 1
Italy Italian – 1[16] 1
Japan Japanese – 1[5] 1
Spain Spanish – 1[16] 1
Venezuela Venezuelan – 1[16] 1
Total 7 61 68

Investigation

The Instituto de Aeronáutica Civil de Cuba took responsibility for investigating the accident in Cuba with assistance from ATR and the French Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA).[17][18] On 16 November the investigation authority presented the final report following analysis of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. It concluded that a combination of extreme weather conditions caused severe icing, which, along with improper crew operating procedures, ultimately led to the loss of the aircraft in a similar set of circumstances to the American Eagle Flight 4184 incident, which occurred in 1994 with the same type of aircraft with the same number of fatalities. ATR confirmed that the aircraft was in optimal technical condition.

Reactions

References

  1. 1 2 "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Plane with 68 said to have crashed in Cuba". Reuters. 5 November 2010. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  3. ↑ "Aero Caribbean CU-T1549 (ATR 42/72 – MSN 459) (Ex EC-HBU N12903 ) | Airfleets aviation". Airfleets.net. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  4. ↑ Flight International 27 March 2007
  5. 1 2 "Passenger plane crashes in Cuba". BBC News. 5 November 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Plane With 68 Said to Crash in Cuba". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  7. ↑ Hradecky, Simon. "Crash: Aerocaribbean AT72 near Guasimal on Nov 4th 2010, impacted ground after emergency call". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  8. ↑ "Rescuers pulling bodies from Cuba plane crash". The Sun Daily. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  9. ↑ "Rescuers find black box of crashed Cuban plane". The Gazette. Montreal. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  10. ↑ "Rescue workers remove bodies from Cuba plane crash". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  11. ↑ Malkin, Elisabeth (5 November 2010). "Cuban Plane Crash Kills 68 People". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  12. 1 2 "Quiénes son los fallecidos argentinos en el accidente". La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 November 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  13. ↑ Пассажирами разбившегося на Кубе самолета были граждане 11 стран (in Russian). Lenta. Archived from the original on 6 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  14. ↑ "3 Nederlanders dood bij crash Cuba" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  15. ↑ Australians killed in Cuba plane crash Australian Broadcasting Corporation – (6 November 2010 ) – Retrieved 6 November 2010
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Relación de fallecidos en el accidente de la aeronave ATR-72-212" (in Spanish). Juventud Revelde. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  17. ↑ "ATR statement on Aero Caribbean Flight 883". ATR. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  18. ↑ "Flight 883 on 4 November 2010 ATR 72–212, registered CU-T1549". Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  19. ↑ "Zuma condoles Cuba after plan crash." BuaNews. 5 November, 2010. Retrieved on 5 November, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Kondolencje po katastrofie kubańskiego samolotu" (in Polish). Office of the President of Poland. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  21. ↑ France sends condolences to Cuba over fatal air crash. 6 Nov.. 2010. People's Daily.
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