West Caribbean Airways Flight 9955
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 25 March 2005 |
| Summary | Engine flameout and pilot error |
| Site | El Embrujo Airport, Colombia |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Let L-410 Turbolet |
| Operator | West Caribbean Airways |
| IATA flight No. | YH9955 |
| ICAO flight No. | WCW9955 |
| Call sign | WEST 9955 |
| Registration | HK-4146 |
| Flight origin | El Embrujo Airport |
| Destination | Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport |
| Occupants | 14 |
| Passengers | 12 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 9 |
| Injuries | 5 |
| Survivors | 5 (Initially 6) |
West Caribbean Airways Flight 9955 was a scheduled flight between Isla de Providencia and San Andres Island, Colombia that crashed on March 25, 2005, killing 9 of the 14 passengers and crew on board.
Accident
The aircraft, a Let L-410 Turbolet, had just taken off from El Embrujo Airport at 9:50, when the left engine flamed out. The crew continued with the takeoff, but the speed of the aircraft decreased rapidly. The aircraft then banked dangerously too far to the right and stalled. The aircraft crashed into a mangrove forest, located just 113 metres (371 ft) from the airport runway.[1]
Both pilots and 7 of the 12 passengers were killed in the crash. (One passenger initially survived the crash, but succumbed to their injuries shortly after being rescued). The survivors were taken to hospitals in San Andrés and Bogotá.[2]
Aftermath
This crash further worsened the already critical situation that had been facing West Caribbean Airways. Only 5 months later, the airline suffered another fatal and even deadlier accident when on 16 August 2005, flight 708, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashed in Venezuela killing all 160 people on board. The airline ceased operations in October the same year.
References
- ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Let L-410UVP-E HK-4146 Providencia-El Embrujo Airport (PVA)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
- ↑ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El. "8 MUERTOS AL CAER AVIÓN EN PROVIDENCIA". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-10-05.