Aviaco Flight 231

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Aviaco Flight 231
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, Aviaco JP5928998.jpg
Aircraft similar to the one that was involved
Occurrence
DateMarch 30, 1992
Summary Hard landing resulted in the fuselage separation
Site
Aircraft
Aircraft type McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32
Aircraft nameCastillo de Butrón
Operator Aviaco
IATA flight No.AO231
ICAO flight No.AYC231
Call signAVIACO 231
Registration EC-BYH
Flight origin Madrid–Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain
Destination Granada Airport, Chauchina, Spain
Occupants99
Passengers94
Crew5
Fatalities0
Injuries26
Survivors99

Aviaco Flight 231 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Madrid-Barajas Airport to Granada Airport. On March 30, 1992, the aircraft slammed into the runway during the approach, breaking the fuselage into two parts. All 99 occupants survived the crash. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Accident

On that day, during the approach to runway 09 at Granada Airport, the aircraft encountered an 11-knot tailwind and heavy rain. [1] At 20:20, in the roll-out, the aircraft's landing gear struck the runway with a vertical force of 4.49g, [2] causing the aircraft to burst all of its main landing gear and bounce off. The plane flew for 36 meters [3] before falling back onto the runway with a deceleration of 4.79g. [2] As a result of the impact, the fuselage broke incompletely into two parts. As the plane skidded down the runway, it veered to one side, tearing apart the fuselage completely, and came to rest in two pieces about 100 meters apart. [4] [6]

All 94 passengers and 5 crew on board survived the crash. There were 26 injuries, 14 of which were reported seriously injured. [4] [6]

Cause

As stated in the declarations of Aviaco's director of operations, [7] the most probable cause of the accident was the bad weather presented during landing: strong winds with windshear and rain. [6] [1] [8] The bad weather possibly prevented the aircraft from having a stabilized approach and hit the ground with great force, although some media also collect testimonies from passengers who claim that the maneuvers carried out by the crew during the landing were not the usual ones. [7] [9]

Iberia (the airline that owned 65% of Aviaco [10] ) also opened the avenue of investigation to see if the accident had been caused by a tire blowout at the moment of contact with the runway that could have triggered the sequence of subsequent events. [8]

Following statements from numerous witnesses, the crew requested to undergo a voluntary breathalyzer test to demonstrate their transparency, but the request was denied. [8] [7]

Aircraft remains

The fuselage of the crashed airliner was removed from Granada Airport after the accident and abandoned in a scrapyard until it was found by sculptor Eduardo Cajal. [11] After purchasing it, he restored it and converted it into a mobile exhibition space, which was presented at the Madrid International Contemporary Art Fair (ARCO) in 2005 under the name Proyecto Avión (Airplane Project) as a setting for a book launch. [12] The fuselage has been adapted and is not complete; only a portion of the aircraft's cylinder or fuselage, approximately 24 meters long, remains. The wings have been removed. [3] [13]

After its presentation at Arco, this piece of the airplane has traveled to different parts of Spain, for example, at the Malaga Film Festival in 2007. [14] In 2012, it went abroad, being transported by road to Wales for the 2012 Cultural Olympiad. [15] [3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Periódico Abc (7 September 2019). "La increíble historia del «avión del milagro» que recordó «El Hormiguero»" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  2. 1 2 3 "Aviation Safety Network" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Diario Sur (5 April 2015). "El avión del milagro" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  4. 1 2 3 "Comisión de investigación de accidentes" (PDF). Dirección General de Aviación Civil (Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes): página 6. 1992.
  5. ↑ La Vanguardia (31 March 1992). "Periódico La Vanguardia del martes, 31 marzo 1992, página 33" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  6. 1 2 3 El País (31 March 1992). "26 personas heridas al partirse en dos un avión de Aviaco durante el aterrizaje en Granada" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  7. 1 2 3 El País (1 April 1992). "El pasaje achaca el accidente de Granada a la tripulación" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  8. 1 2 3 La Vanguardia (1 April 1992). "Periódico La Vanguardia: Edición del 01 abril 1992, página 27" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  9. ↑ Ideal (30 March 2017). "25 años del accidente de avión que conmovió a Granada" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  10. ↑ El País (15 June 1988). "Iberia negociará con el Instituto Nacional de Industria la compra del 65% de Aviaco" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  11. ↑ Heraldo de Aragón (1 December 2010). "De viaje cultural, sin alas y por carretera" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  12. ↑ El Periódico de Aragón (3 February 2005). "Eduardo Cajal crea un espacio cultural en un avión para Arco" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  13. ↑ El Periódico de Aragón (3 May 2005). "Llega a Zaragoza el ´Avión nave cultural´ del artista Eduardo Cajal" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  14. ↑ Diario Sur (8 February 2007). "Un avión DC-9 albergará la vanguardia audiovisual en el Festival de Málaga" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  15. ↑ Diario del Alto Aragón (17 June 2012). "Cajal "pilotará" su avión cultural DC-9 hasta el Festival Londres 2012" . Retrieved 2021-01-20.
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