Avianca Flight 011

It was nighttime at the time of the accident, the meteorological conditions just before the crash consisted of a visibility of 5 miles, and the wind was calm.[3] About 20 minutes prior to the impact, the aircraft had obtained meteorological information on the weather conditions at Barajas from Avianca. The first contact with Spanish air traffic controllers had taken place at 23:31.[2] At 00:03 the aircraft contacted Barajas again, and was cleared to land on runway 33; this was the air traffic controller's last contact with the aircraft.[2] The accident took place in the township of Mejorada del Campo, approximately 7.5 miles southeast of the Madrid Airport. The time of the accident was approximately 00:06 on 27 November. The plane hit three different hills on its way down during the crash, with the third hill being the final impact. The debris of the airplane was widely scattered as a consequence of the impacts. The crash killed 158 passengers, 19 crew members, and four off-duty crew members. 11 were seriously injured. Of the injured, nine were ejected from the airplane, a few of them still in their seats, and two claimed to have exited the aircraft by themselves.[2] The aircraft was completely destroyed by the impact and ensuing fire.[2] The airplane was equipped with a digital flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder, both of which were recovered on the day of the accident in good condition.[2]

The crash was investigated by the Spanish Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC).[1]

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The pilot-in-command, without having any precise knowledge of his position, set out to intercept the instrument landing system (ILS) on an incorrect track without initiating the published instrument approach maneuver; in so doing, he descended below the sector minima until he collided with the ground. Contributory factors were:

• a) Inaccurate navigation by the crew, which placed them in an incorrect position for initiating the approach maneuver;
• b) Failure of the crew to take corrective action in accordance with the operating instructions of the ground proximity warning system;
• c) Deficient teamwork on the flight deck;
• d) Imprecise position information supplied to the aircraft by APP;
• e) The APP controller, in failing to inform the aircraft that radar service had terminated, did not maintain a proper watch on the radar scope."
  — (CIAIAC)

There was no evidence of any anomalies in Paris prior to this flight. The crew had stayed in the city 72 hours after arriving on flight AVO10 on the first day, 24 November 1983.[2] The investigation also determined that the pilot-in-command and crew were properly licensed and qualified, as were the air traffic controllers. The aircraft carried a valid certificate of airworthiness, as well as a registration and maintenance certificate. The airplane was maintained in accordance with the prescribed maintenance program, and the navigation and approach aids were checked and found to be functioning correctly. In addition, there was no record of malfunctions in the controllers communications or radar equipment, and no evidence was discovered of defects in the aircraft engines or systems.[2]

As of 2019, Avianca still operates Flight 011, a daily non-stop flight from Madrid to Bogota, using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

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External images

Pre-Crash photos of HK-2910 at Airliners.net

Photo of the crashed airliner from AirDisaster.com

• Report from the Ministry of Infrastructures, Spain – Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (in Spanish).
• Transcript of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR)
• Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network