Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108
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An Aeropostal McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 similar to the one involved. | |
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | March 5, 1991 |
Summary | Pilot error |
Site | Near La Valesa, Venezuela |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 |
Operator | Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela |
Registration | YV-23C |
Flight origin | La Chinita International Airport, Maracaibo, Venezuela |
Destination | Santa Barbara Ed-L Delicias Airport, Venezuela |
Occupants | 45 |
Passengers | 40 |
Crew | 5 |
Fatalities | 45 |
Survivors | 0 |
Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108 was a short-haul flight from La Chinita International Airport in Maracaibo, Venezuela to Santa Barbara Ed-L Delicias Airport that crashed on March 5, 1991.
Aircraft
[edit]The aircraft used on Flight 108 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, which has been in service with Aeropostal for 14 years; the aircraft had been manufactured in 1976.[1][2]
The "Guillotine of Los Andes"
[edit]The Páramo "Los Torres" is known among Venezuelan pilots as The Guillotine ("Russian roulette") of the Andes. In literal sense, it is a steep, usually foggy mountain that pilots had trouble avoiding before proper ground proximity warning systems were installed in planes. Prior to Flight 108, two other commercial aircraft had crashed near "The Guillotine". On December 15, 1950, an Avensa Douglas DC-3 flying from Mérida to Caracas crashed, killing all 28 passengers and 3 crew. Ten years later, on December 15, 1960, a Ransa flight crashed, killing all of its passengers.[3]
Accident
[edit]Flight 108 took off from La Chinita International Airport with 45 passengers and crew. Several minutes later, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 crashed on the side of a foggy mountain near "The Guillotine" near La Valesa in the La Aguada sector of the Páramo Los Torres and burst into flames. All 45 people on board died.[1]
Cause
[edit]An investigation into the accident found that the cause of the crash was pilot error. The pilots inadvertently entered the wrong radial into their navigation system and went off course. Because of fog in the area, the pilots did not know they were on a collision course with the mountain.[4][5]
In popular culture
[edit]On February 23, 2008, Globovisón briefly mentioned the accident while covering a report on Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518.[6]
See also
[edit]- Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518 - On February 21, 2008, an ATR 42, crashed into the "Los Conejos" moor, several minutes after taking off from Alberto Carnevalli Airport in Mérida. All 43 passengers and three crew members were killed in the accident. The remains of the aircraft were found the following day in a mountain range approximately 10 kilometers northeast of Mérida at an altitude of 12,000 feet (3,700 m). After the accident, the company started a new public relations program and rebranded SBA Airlines. Like Flight 108, Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518 did not have accurate information of the route it was flying.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 YV-23C Valera". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 2005-04-12. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ "YV-23C Linea Aeropostal Venezolana (LAV) McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ Zabala, Ángel Mendoza (2016-03-05). ""Cadena de errores 'tumbó' el avión de Aeropostal": experto aeronáutico" ["Chain of errors 'knocked down' the Aeropostal plane": aeronautical expert]. panorama.com.ve (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ Bravo, Luis (2016-03-05). "Hace 25 años se estrelló vuelo 108 de Aeropostal en páramo Los Torres (fotos)" [25 years ago Aeropostal flight 108 crashed in Los Torres páramo (photos)]. panorama.com.ve (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ "Crash of a Douglas DC-9-32 on Mt La Aguada: 45 killed". www.baaa-acro.com. Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ "Accidentes Aéreos: Resumen de Accidentes Aéreos en Venezuela" [Air Accidents: Summary of Air Accidents in Venezuela]. volarenvenezuela.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2006-10-18. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident ATR 42-300 YV1449 Mérida-A Carnevalli Airport (MRD)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 2008-02-25. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
External links
[edit]- HISTORIA ACCIDENTES AEREOS VENEZUELA on YouTube
- ACCIDENTE AEROPOSTAL SANTA BARBARA1991 ARJONAVISION1 HD on YouTube
- 20th century in Maracaibo
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 1991
- Aviation accidents and incidents in Venezuela
- Accidents and incidents involving the McDonnell Douglas DC-9
- Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
- Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela accidents and incidents
- 1991 in Venezuela
- March 1991 events in South America
- 1991 disasters in Venezuela
- Events in Maracaibo