West Caribbean Airways Flight 9955

Last updated
West Caribbean Airways Flight 9955
West Caribbean Airways Flight 9955 wreckage.png
A wreckage from flight 9955
Accident
Date26 March 2005 (2005-03-26)
SummaryStalled shortly after take-off due to engine flameout
Site El Embrujo Airport, Colombia
13°21′21″N81°21′45″W / 13.35583°N 81.36250°W / 13.35583; -81.36250
Aircraft
Searca LET 410UVP HK-4161 (6157412174).jpg
A L-410 Turbolet similar to the accident aircraft
Aircraft type Let L-410 Turbolet
Aircraft nameOld Providence
Operator West Caribbean Airways
IATA flight No.YH9955
ICAO flight No.WCW9955
Call signWEST 9955
Registration HK-4146
Flight origin El Embrujo Airport
Destination Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport
Occupants14
Passengers12
Crew2
Fatalities9
Injuries5
Survivors5

West Caribbean Airways Flight 9955 was a scheduled flight between Isla de Providencia and San Andres Island, Colombia that crashed on 26 March 2005, killing 9 of the 14 passengers and crew on board. It was the first fatal crash in West Caribbean Airways history.

Contents

Background

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Let L-410 Turbolet with manufacturer serial number (MSN) 902426, built on 28 April 1990. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was 14 years, 10 months, and 26 days old and had accumulated 6,901 flight hours. [1]

Crew

The flight crew consisted of a captain and a copilot. The captain, Rodolfo Blanco Martínez, age 42, had a total of 6,038 flying hours, including 145 hours on the Let L-410 type. He had also flown the Piper PA-34.

The copilot, Edwin Dagoberto Giraldo Florez, age 26, had 868 total flying hours, with 653 hours on type. [1] [2]

Passengers

According to a statement from West Caribbean Airways, the occupants of the aircraft were: [3]

Fatalities

The following passengers died in the crash or from injuries sustained:

  • José Toro (3 years old)
  • Sandra Blanco
  • Maritza Murcia
  • Patricia Tabares
  • Alejandro Charles
  • Jacqueline Brenes
  • Indira Arellano
  • Consuelo Moncano (5 years old)
  • Joseph Blombom (initially survived but later died due to injuries)

Survivors

The following passengers survived the crash:

  • María Moncano
  • Juanita Toro
  • Indira Medrano
  • Ricardo Pardo
  • Angie Smith


Accident

The aircraft, a Let L-410 Turbolet, had just taken off from El Embrujo Airport at 9:50. The plane took off without problems; when it reached approximately 300 feet in height, it turned to the right and crashed into a mangrove swamp. The left engine flamed out during the takeoff roll, but the crew continued. The speed of the aircraft decreased rapidly, and it 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. [4] [3]

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. Providencia Island was experiencing increased activity due to the Christian Holy Week holidays at the time of the accident. [5] [6]

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 on 16 August 2005, when Flight 708, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashed in Venezuela killing all 160 people on board which further worsened the company's image. The airline ceased operations in October of the same year.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "West Caribbean Airways | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives". www.baaa-acro.com. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  2. ↑ "Accidente aéreo: ocho muertos en isla caribeña". Infobae (in Spanish). 26 March 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Accidente aéreo en Providencia deja ocho muertos". Caracol Radio (in Spanish). 26 March 2005. Retrieved 2025-08-09.
  4. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Let L-410UVP-E HK-4146 Providencia-El Embrujo Airport (PVA)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network . Retrieved 2018-10-05.
  5. ↑ "Eight dead in Caribbean plane crash". ABC News Australia. 27 March 2005. Retrieved 2025-08-09.
  6. ↑ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (2005-03-27). "8 MUERTOS AL CAER AVIÓN EN PROVIDENCIA" [8 DEAD ON FALLING AIRPLANE IN PROVIDENCIA]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-10-05.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.