Avianca Flight 671

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Avianca Flight 671
Avianca Constellation Proctor.jpg
An Avianca Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation similar to the accident aircraft
Accident
Date21 January 1960
Summary Runway excursion, hard landing
Site
Avianca Flight 671
Aircraft
Aircraft type Lockheed L-1049E Super Constellation
Operator Avianca
Call signAVIANCA 671
Registration HK-177
Flight origin New York-Idlewild Airport
1st stopover Miami International Airport (unscheduled)
2nd stopover Sangster International Airport
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Destination El Dorado International Airport
Occupants46
Passengers39
Crew7
Fatalities37
Survivors9

Avianca Flight 671 , registration HK-177, was a Lockheed Constellation that crashed and burned on landing at Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 21 January 1960. The flight had originated at Miami International Airport, Florida. The aircraft operating the flight was a Lockheed L-1049E Super Constellation used by Avianca for its Bogotá-Montego Bay routes. Thirty-seven of the 46 passengers and crew aboard were killed. It was and remains the worst accident in Jamaican aviation history.

Contents

Background

The aircraft itself was a Lockheed Constellation owned by Avianca, a company affiliated with Pan Am. [1] It had 46 passengers on board and 7 crew. [2] Four passengers, tired of waiting for repairs, left the plane while it disembarked in Miami. [2]

The disaster was the fourth major air crash in a span of four days; a Vickers Viscount crashed into a farm in Charles City County, Virginia on January 18 and killed 50, a Sud Aviation Caravelle operated by Scandinavian Airlines crashed on January 19 and killed 42, and a Martin P4M Mercator crashed into Mount Karanfil the same day, killing all 16 Navy soldiers. [2]

Accident

On landing, the plane made a heavy touchdown, bounced, and landed back on the runway, then skidded down the runway in flames. It came to rest upside down, 580 metres (1,900 ft) from the runway threshold and 60 metres (200 ft) to the left thereof.[ citation needed ]

Victims

Of the 46 occupants, 37 were killed while nine survived. [3] The dead included all 17 American passengers. [3] seven of which were residents of New York City. [2] Additionally, a Canadian reverend, five Columbians, and two Italians were killed. [4] Additionally, Manuel Jiménez Díaz, known as "Chicuelo II", a famous Spanish bullfighter, his brother Ricardo, [5] [4] Thomas C. Capehart, son of the Indiana senator Homer E. Capehart, his wife Elizabeth, [2] and John H. Marhoefer, president of the Marhoefer Packing Company, were among the dead. [3]

The nine survivors consisted of four passengers and five members of the crew. [1]

Aftermath

Following the crash, the airport was temporarily closed. [6]

Reactions

Governor Kenneth Blackburne expressed his "deepest sympathies" for the victims while visiting the crash site, calling it "the terrible disaster to the Columbian aircraft in Montego Bay." [7] Secretary of State Iain Macleod stated that he was "greatly disturbed to hear about the accident and heavy loss of life", while Alan Hilliard Donald, former Governor of the Cayman Islands, offered his condolences. [8]

Investigation

In the afternoon following the crash, the government of the then-Colony of Jamaica announced that they would begin investigating the cause of the crash, creating a task force headed by the Director of Civil Aviation and Inspector of Accidents, Kenneth Paton-Jones DFC , and contacting the United Kingdom's Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation for an expert on plane crashes. [7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "37 killed in plane crash". Leicester Evening Mail . 21 January 1960. p. 10. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "37 Die In Air Crash In Jamaica; 4th In 4 Days". Madera Tribune . Vol. 68, no. 178. United Press International. 21 January 1960. p. 12. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "37 Dead, Nine Survive Fiery Plane Crash". Cumberland News . Associated Press. 22 January 1960. p. 1. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Passengers surviving". Kingston Gleaner . 22 January 1960. p. 1. Retrieved 2 February 2026– via NewspaperArchive.com.
  5. ↑ Topper, Javier Franco (7 April 2015). "El relato del accidente del Super Constellation HK-177 de Avianca". volavi (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  6. ↑ "From Avianca to Canjet: MoBay airport at centre of J'can aviation history". Jamaica Observer . 22 April 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Government starts investigation". Kingston Gleaner. 21 January 1960. pp. 1, 17 – via NewspaperArchive.com. (part 1, part 2)
  8. ↑ "Sympathy cables". Kingston Gleaner. 24 January 1960. p. 1. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
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