LAC Colombia Flight 028

Last updated
LAC Colombia Flight 028
Aeronaves del Peru DC-8F-55; OB-R-1200, November 1982 ADR (5127157082).jpg
The aircraft involved in 1982, while still operating with Aeronaves del Peru.
Accident
DateFebruary 4, 1996
Summary Loss of control and stall caused by pilot error
Site Mariano Roque Alonso, near Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, Luque, Paraguay
Total fatalities22
Total injuries2
Total survivors0
Aircraft
Aircraft type Douglas DC-8-55CF
Operator LAC Colombia
IATA flight No.LC028
ICAO flight No.LCI028
Call signLAC 028
Registration HK-3979
Flight origin Silvio Pettirossi International Airport, Luque, Paraguay
Destination Campinas International Airport
Occupants4
Passengers1
Crew3
Fatalities4
Survivors0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities18
Ground injuries2

LAC Colombia Flight 028 was a scheduled cargo flight that took off from Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Luque, Paraguay and was bound for Campinas International Airport in Campinas, Brazil. The plane crash, also known as the LAC Paraguay air disaster, has been considered the worst plane crash in Paraguay. [1] The crash was caused by the pilot improperly ceding control to the co-pilot shortly after takeoff, then turning off two of the engines to hinder operation of the plane by the co-pilot.

Contents

On February 4, 1996, at 14:12 local time, the plane, a 29-year-old Douglas DC-8 of the now-defunct Colombian airline Líneas Aéreas del Caribe (LAC) stalled and crashed in a neighborhood in the district of Mariano Roque Alonso, about ten kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Paraguay's capital Asunción, a few minutes after takeoff. The crash killed 22 people: the 4 crew members, along with 18 people on the ground, mostly children who were playing on a soccer field. There were also several injuries and damage to several houses in the surrounding area. [1]

Accident

At the time of the crash, the weather was reported as good, and visibility was optimal. The aircraft was also in excellent technical condition while carrying adequate fuel. The aircraft took off around 2:30 p.m. from Luque Airport, bound for Campinas. [2]

A few minutes after takeoff, the pilot gave control of the plane to his co-pilot, a novice, and began to test the engines. One of the left engines was first turned off, causing the aircraft to bank. Another engine was then turned off at 500 feet. The co-pilot was heard asking the other pilots to stop joking "that way"[ clarification needed ], as the co-pilot retook control of the plane and attempted to climb with two engines turned off. [2]

Subsequently, two carburetion explosions were heard, indicating that the aircraft was forced to climb so that no air could enter the other engines, meaning that the engines could not operate at full power. When they tried to reactivate the two engines, the pilots did not react in time, given that the aircraft had not yet gained much altitude. [3]

The plane fell to the ground, crashing into a playing field around 2 kilometers (1¼ miles) from the end of the runway in the Mariano Roque Alonso district a few minutes after takeoff. The four Colombian crew members died instantly after the crash, along with 18 other people who died on the ground, 13 of whom were children playing soccer in the playing field in which the plane had crashed. The crash severely damaged the airline's reputation and finances, leading to the airline ending operations later that year. [1]

Investigation

The investigation was carried out by the aeronautical authorities of Colombia, Paraguay and the United States. After investigators analyzed the tapes of the two flight recorders that recorded the crew's conversations and movements of the plane in the last minutes of the flight, they concluded that the accident was due to human error by the pilots. [1]

The main error occurred when the pilot improperly gave control of the plane to the co-pilot, a prohibited procedure that made the aircraft operation difficult for the co-pilot. Both the pilots and the flight engineer had reportedly expressed excessive confidence about the conditions of the surrounding environment. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TAME</span> Flag-carrier airline of Ecuador

TAME or TAME EP Linea Aerea del Ecuador was an airline founded in Ecuador in 1962. TAME was the flag carrier and the largest airline of Ecuador. TAME headquarters were in Quito, Pichincha Province and the main hub was Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito. The airline was formed by the Air Force of Ecuador. In 2011, it became a commercial entity and provided domestic, international and charter flights. On May 20, 2020, the Ecuadorean government decided to cease all operations and liquidate the airline.

ARPA – Aerolíneas Paraguayas was an airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Silvio Pettirossi International Airport in Luque, Paraguay, near Asunción. It operated scheduled domestic services. Its main base was Silvio Pettirossi International Airport.

Aerosucre S.A. is a cargo airline based in Bogotá, Colombia. It began operation in 1969 and operates scheduled international and domestic cargo services throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Its home base is El Dorado International Airport, Bogotá. Aerosucre has been involved in a number of accidents and incidents during its lifetime, and more recently, internet videos have emerged showcasing reckless behavior by its pilots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvio Pettirossi International Airport</span> Airport in Luque, Paraguay

Silvio Pettirossi International Airport is an international airport in Luque, Paraguay, which serves Paraguay's capital city, Asunción, and indirectly serves the nearby city of Clorinda, Formosa, in Argentina. The airport is named after Paraguayan aviator Silvio Pettirossi. Between 1980 and 1989, it was known as President Stroessner International Airport, after the former head of state, Alfredo Stroessner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silvio Pettirossi</span>

Silvio Pettirossi Pereira was a Paraguayan airplane pilot and aviation pioneer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copa Airlines Flight 201</span> 1992 aviation accident in Panama

Copa Airlines Flight 201 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, Panama, to Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali, Colombia. On 6 June 1992, the Boeing 737-204 Advanced operating the route rolled, entered a steep dive, disintegrated in mid-air, and crashed into the jungle of the Darién Gap 29 minutes after takeoff, killing all 47 people on board. The in-flight break-up was caused by faulty instrument readings and several other contributing factors, including incomplete training.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luque</span> City in Central, Paraguay

Luque is a city in Central Department of Paraguay, part of the Gran Asunción metropolitan area. Both 1635 and 1750 have been recorded as dates of its founding. It was temporarily the capital of Paraguay in 1868 during the Paraguayan War before relocation to San Estanislao. It is located at around 25°16′12″S57°29′14″W. Luque is one of the most important cities in the country. The city counts as home of Paraguay's main international airport, Silvio Pettirossi International Airport and the Ñu Guasú Park, which is where the Paraguayan Olympic Committee is also located. The continental governing body of association football in South America, CONMEBOL, has its headquarters approximately 3 minutes from the Airport, consisting of the South American Football Museum and walking distance from the Bourbon CONMEBOL Asunción Convention Hotel. When it existed, ARPA – Aerolíneas Paraguayas had its headquarters in the ARPA Terminal on the grounds of the airport. It is a center of production of Guitars and Paraguayan harps as well as Filigranas, gold and silver filigree jewelry including the seven-band ring Carretón de Siete Ramales. On 27 January 2016, Paraguayan Newspaper La Nación had reported that Carlos Echeverría Estigarribia, the elected intendent of the city of Luque, states his intention of wanting Luque to be one of the most important cities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariano Roque Alonso, Paraguay</span> City in Central Department, Paraguay

Mariano Roque Alonso is a district and city located in the Central Department, in Paraguay in the Gran Asunción metropolitan area. The city has a population of 85,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TAME Flight 173</span> 1983 passenger plane crash in Cuenca, Ecuador

TAME Flight 173, a Boeing 737-2V2 Advanced operated by Ecuador's national airline TAME, flying on a domestic route from the now-closed Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Quito to Mariscal Lamar International Airport in Cuenca, crashed into a hill during final approach just 1 mile from its final destination, killing all 119 people on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centurion Air Cargo Flight 164</span> 2008 aviation accident

Centurion Air Cargo Flight 164 was a chartered international cargo flight, flying from Bogota's El Dorado International Airport while en route to Miami International Airport. The flight was operated by Kalitta Air and the aircraft was wet leased by Centurion Air Cargo. On 7 July 2008, the aircraft, a Boeing 747-209BSF registered as N714CK, crashed shortly after takeoff. All aboard suffered injuries, but none were killed. Two people on the ground were killed after the plane slammed into a farm. The crash was the second crash of a Boeing 747 in 2008 in Kalitta Air service, after a previous accident at Brussels in May.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Wind Aviation Flight 282</span> 2017 plane crash in Saskatchewan, Canada

West Wind Aviation Flight 282 was a domestic passenger flight from Fond-du-Lac Airport to Stony Rapids Airport, Canada. The aircraft was an ATR 42-320 registered C-GWEA. On 13 December 2017, shortly after taking off from Fond-du-Lac, the ATR-42 lost altitude and hit the ground. All 25 passengers and crew initially survived the crash, but one passenger later died of his injuries in hospital. Investigation on the cause of the crash determined that it was caused by ice contamination on the aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeroméxico Connect Flight 2431</span> Aircraft that crashed in Mexico, July 2018

Aeroméxico Connect Flight 2431 (SLI2431/5D2431) was a Mexican domestic scheduled passenger flight bound for Mexico City that crashed on takeoff from Durango International Airport on July 31, 2018. Shortly after becoming airborne, the plane encountered sudden wind shear caused by a microburst. The plane rapidly lost speed and altitude and impacted the runway, detaching the engines and skidding to a halt about 1,000 feet (300 m) beyond the runway. The plane caught fire and was destroyed. All 103 people on board survived, but 39 passengers and crew members were injured.

LAC was a Colombian airline that was founded in Barranquilla in 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1983 TAMPA Colombia Boeing 707 crash</span> Aviation accident

On December 14, 1983, a TAMPA Colombia Boeing 707 crashed after taking off from Olaya Herrera Airport in Medellín, Colombia on a ferry flight, killing all three people on board and 22 more people on the ground.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-8-55F HK-3979 Asunción-Silvio Pettirossi International Airport (ASU)". aviation-safety.net. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
  2. 1 2 "El día que un avión cayó en Paraguay y apagó la vida de 22 personas" [The day a plane fell in Paraguay and killed 22 people] (in Spanish). 30 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 EFE (1996-02-05). "21 personas perecen al caer un avión de carga en un barrio de Asunción" [21 people die when a cargo plane falls in a neighborhood of Asunción]. El País (in Spanish). ISSN   1134-6582. Archived from the original on 2023-08-30. Retrieved 2023-08-30.