AIRES Flight 8250
Encyclopedia
AIRES Flight 8250 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight which crashed on August 16, 2010 on the Colombia
n island of San Andrés
, in the Caribbean
, with two fatalities. The aircraft, an AIRES
-operated Boeing 737-73V, was en-route from the Colombian capital Bogota
when it crashed while attempting to land in bad weather, breaking into three pieces on impact with the runway. It was the second fatal accident involving a 737-700, and the first one leading to the plane being written off.
engines and had a capacity for 149 passengers single class. The aircraft had its maiden flight on January 10, 2003, with registration N6046P. Boeing originally delivered it to low-cost airline Easyjet
on February 21, 2003 as G-EZJU. Serving with Easyjet until January 2010, it was then stored. The aircraft was delivered to AIRES on March 6, 2010.
Aires said it has a fleet of about 20 planes, including 10 737-700s. Investigators said the day after the crash that the plane's maintenance log was up to date. The accident was the first that resulted in a Boeing 737-700 being written off. It was the second fatal accident involving a 737-700, following the runway over-run incident of Southwest Airlines Flight 1248
in Chicago in December 2005.
. The aircraft was on a flight from the Colombian capital of Bogota
, to the Colombian island of San Andrés
, in the Caribbean
. A popular tourist destination, San Andres Island is about 190 kilometres (102.6 nmi) east of the Nicaragua
n coast.
The flight took off from Bogota shortly after midnight. Operating as Flight 8250, it departed from El Dorado International Airport
at 00:07 en route to Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport
.
, at 1:49 a.m. local Western Caribbean Time (UTC−05:00). The plane split into three pieces. The impact occurred about 260 feet (79.2 m) before the start of the runway, with wreckage spread about another 328 feet (100 m). The plane skidded along the runway, fracturing the landing gear and ripping one engine from the wings. The aircraft's nose and first eight rows of seating came to rest on the runway pointing in a different direction to the rest of the wreckage. According to Colonel David Barrero of the Colombian Air Force
, "the skill of the pilot kept the plane from colliding with the airport". The engines shut down on impact, and the fuselage did not catch fire. Airport fire crews quickly doused a small fire that had started on a wing. As a result of the accident, the Comité Regional de Prevención y Atención de Desastres was mobilized.
There were two fatalities. Autopsy revealed that a 68-year-old woman suffered a ruptured aorta and ruptured liver. She died on the way to the hospital. One early report stated that 114 people were injured in the crash, and that of 99 passengers taken to the Amor de Patria Hospital on San Andrés, only four had suffered major injuries. Reports a day later settled on a figure of 119 people being taken to local hospitals, mostly with minor injuries. 13 survivors, including four with serious injuries, were flown to Bogota for treatment. The second fatality was a girl; she sustained substantial brain damage and died 16 days after the accident.
One report stated that the passenger list included six Americans
, five French
, four Brazil
ians, four Costa Rica
ns and two Germans
. Another report stated there were three Americans aboard. A later report put the number of non-Colombians aboard as 'at least 16'.
opened an investigation into the accident. The airport was closed as investigators examined the wreckage to determine the cause of the accident. The closure was expected to last until 06:00 on August 17.
The plane reportedly crashed in bad weather, while a storm was reported in the area, but not at the airport. The METAR
(aviation routine weather observation message) report in force at the time of the accident indicated that the wind was from the east north east at 6 knots (11.8 km/h), visibility was good and that the runway was wet. The plane "landed in the middle of an intense electrical storm" according to Colonel Barrero.
Passenger accounts the day after the crash detailed how the landing appeared to have been going normally, with the flight attendants having made the passengers ready for landing, when the crash occurred suddenly and without warning. The pilot did not report an emergency to the tower. There were conflicting reports over what caused the crash, suggesting that the landing was disrupted after either the plane was hit by a downdraft, or struck by lightning
. The pilot said that the plane was struck by lightning. Officials refused to comment on the reports of a lightning strike, although subsequent research proved that was not true. No plane has have an accident caused by lighting since the 60's. The airport was not fitted with equipment such as a Doppler radar, used to detect wind shear.
Both the flight data and cockpit voice recorders were recovered from the wreckage. Based on the pattern of wreckage, investigators concluded that the plane had cracked apart on impact and not while in the air.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board
sent a team to support the Colombian-led investigation as representatives of the manufacturer's state.
Almost one year after the accident, on July 15, 2011, the Security Council of Aeronáutica Civil concluded that it was an error of the pilot, who did not correctly adjust to the bad weather and high winds, touching ground before the runway and saying "the pilot entered at a low altitude and the strong winds knocked down the aircraft". Aeronaútica Civil recommended retraining of the crew. Although the accident was caused by human error, Aeronaútica representative Colonel Carlos Silva curiously refused to blame the pilots for this accident.
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n island of San Andrés
San Andrés (island)
San Andrés is a coral island among the Colombian islands in the Caribbean Sea; it is the largest island of the southern group of islands. Together with the nearby island of Providencia and some smaller islands of the southern group of the Colombian archipelago, San Andrés forms the department of...
, in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, with two fatalities. The aircraft, an AIRES
AIRES
Aerovías de Integración Regional S.A. is a low-cost airline headquartered in the AIRES Hangar in Bogotá, Colombia. It operates scheduled regional domestic and international services, as well as a domestic cargo service...
-operated Boeing 737-73V, was en-route from the Colombian capital Bogota
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
when it crashed while attempting to land in bad weather, breaking into three pieces on impact with the runway. It was the second fatal accident involving a 737-700, and the first one leading to the plane being written off.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-73V, registration HK-4682, with serial number (MSN) 32416, construction number 1270. It was powered by two CFM56-7B20CFM International CFM56
The CFM International CFM56 series is a family of high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines made by CFM International , with a thrust range of . CFMI is a 50–50 joint-owned company of SNECMA, France and GE Aviation , USA. Both companies are responsible for producing components and each has its own...
engines and had a capacity for 149 passengers single class. The aircraft had its maiden flight on January 10, 2003, with registration N6046P. Boeing originally delivered it to low-cost airline Easyjet
EasyJet
EasyJet Airline Company Limited is a British airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. It carries more passengers than any other United Kingdom-based airline, operating domestic and international scheduled services on 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports...
on February 21, 2003 as G-EZJU. Serving with Easyjet until January 2010, it was then stored. The aircraft was delivered to AIRES on March 6, 2010.
Aires said it has a fleet of about 20 planes, including 10 737-700s. Investigators said the day after the crash that the plane's maintenance log was up to date. The accident was the first that resulted in a Boeing 737-700 being written off. It was the second fatal accident involving a 737-700, following the runway over-run incident of Southwest Airlines Flight 1248
Southwest Airlines Flight 1248
Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 was a scheduled passenger flight from Baltimore-Washington International Airport, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Chicago Midway International Airport, in Chicago, Illinois, to Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City, Utah, and then to McCarran...
in Chicago in December 2005.
Flight
The flight was operated by the local, privately owned Colombian airline, AIRESAIRES
Aerovías de Integración Regional S.A. is a low-cost airline headquartered in the AIRES Hangar in Bogotá, Colombia. It operates scheduled regional domestic and international services, as well as a domestic cargo service...
. The aircraft was on a flight from the Colombian capital of Bogota
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, to the Colombian island of San Andrés
San Andrés (island)
San Andrés is a coral island among the Colombian islands in the Caribbean Sea; it is the largest island of the southern group of islands. Together with the nearby island of Providencia and some smaller islands of the southern group of the Colombian archipelago, San Andrés forms the department of...
, in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. A popular tourist destination, San Andres Island is about 190 kilometres (102.6 nmi) east of the Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
n coast.
The flight took off from Bogota shortly after midnight. Operating as Flight 8250, it departed from El Dorado International Airport
El Dorado International Airport
El Dorado International Airport is an international airport located in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the largest Latin America airport in terms of cargo movements with 593,946 tons and the third in terms of passenger traffic, only behind São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport and Mexico City's...
at 00:07 en route to Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport is the leading airport in the archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina, which has enough capacity to receive large aircraft, due to a number of charter flights and seasonal in different parts of America and Europe.- Description :The...
.
Accident
The crash occurred as the plane came into land on San AndrésSan Andrés (island)
San Andrés is a coral island among the Colombian islands in the Caribbean Sea; it is the largest island of the southern group of islands. Together with the nearby island of Providencia and some smaller islands of the southern group of the Colombian archipelago, San Andrés forms the department of...
, at 1:49 a.m. local Western Caribbean Time (UTC−05:00). The plane split into three pieces. The impact occurred about 260 feet (79.2 m) before the start of the runway, with wreckage spread about another 328 feet (100 m). The plane skidded along the runway, fracturing the landing gear and ripping one engine from the wings. The aircraft's nose and first eight rows of seating came to rest on the runway pointing in a different direction to the rest of the wreckage. According to Colonel David Barrero of the Colombian Air Force
Colombian Air Force
The Colombian Air Force or FAC is the Air Force of the Republic of Colombia.The Colombian Air Force is one of the three institutions of the Armed Forces of Colombia, charge according to the 1991 Constitution of the work to exercise and maintain control of Colombia's airspace to defend the...
, "the skill of the pilot kept the plane from colliding with the airport". The engines shut down on impact, and the fuselage did not catch fire. Airport fire crews quickly doused a small fire that had started on a wing. As a result of the accident, the Comité Regional de Prevención y Atención de Desastres was mobilized.
Passengers and crew
There are contradictory reports as to how many people were aboard the aircraft. Reports range from 121 passengers and six crew members, 131 passengers and crew, and at least 127 people aboard. The report of 131 people was further broken down as 121 adult passengers and four minors. Reports the day after the accident, settled on 131 people aboard, 125 passengers and six crew.There were two fatalities. Autopsy revealed that a 68-year-old woman suffered a ruptured aorta and ruptured liver. She died on the way to the hospital. One early report stated that 114 people were injured in the crash, and that of 99 passengers taken to the Amor de Patria Hospital on San Andrés, only four had suffered major injuries. Reports a day later settled on a figure of 119 people being taken to local hospitals, mostly with minor injuries. 13 survivors, including four with serious injuries, were flown to Bogota for treatment. The second fatality was a girl; she sustained substantial brain damage and died 16 days after the accident.
One report stated that the passenger list included six Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, five French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, four Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ians, four Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
ns and two Germans
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Another report stated there were three Americans aboard. A later report put the number of non-Colombians aboard as 'at least 16'.
Investigation
Colombia's civil aviation authority, Aeronáutica Civil and the Colombian Air ForceColombian Air Force
The Colombian Air Force or FAC is the Air Force of the Republic of Colombia.The Colombian Air Force is one of the three institutions of the Armed Forces of Colombia, charge according to the 1991 Constitution of the work to exercise and maintain control of Colombia's airspace to defend the...
opened an investigation into the accident. The airport was closed as investigators examined the wreckage to determine the cause of the accident. The closure was expected to last until 06:00 on August 17.
The plane reportedly crashed in bad weather, while a storm was reported in the area, but not at the airport. The METAR
METAR
METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by pilots in fulfillment of a part of a pre-flight weather briefing, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting....
(aviation routine weather observation message) report in force at the time of the accident indicated that the wind was from the east north east at 6 knots (11.8 km/h), visibility was good and that the runway was wet. The plane "landed in the middle of an intense electrical storm" according to Colonel Barrero.
Passenger accounts the day after the crash detailed how the landing appeared to have been going normally, with the flight attendants having made the passengers ready for landing, when the crash occurred suddenly and without warning. The pilot did not report an emergency to the tower. There were conflicting reports over what caused the crash, suggesting that the landing was disrupted after either the plane was hit by a downdraft, or struck by lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
. The pilot said that the plane was struck by lightning. Officials refused to comment on the reports of a lightning strike, although subsequent research proved that was not true. No plane has have an accident caused by lighting since the 60's. The airport was not fitted with equipment such as a Doppler radar, used to detect wind shear.
Both the flight data and cockpit voice recorders were recovered from the wreckage. Based on the pattern of wreckage, investigators concluded that the plane had cracked apart on impact and not while in the air.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
sent a team to support the Colombian-led investigation as representatives of the manufacturer's state.
Almost one year after the accident, on July 15, 2011, the Security Council of Aeronáutica Civil concluded that it was an error of the pilot, who did not correctly adjust to the bad weather and high winds, touching ground before the runway and saying "the pilot entered at a low altitude and the strong winds knocked down the aircraft". Aeronaútica Civil recommended retraining of the crew. Although the accident was caused by human error, Aeronaútica representative Colonel Carlos Silva curiously refused to blame the pilots for this accident.
Reactions
San Andrés Governor Pedro Gallardo described the high survivor rate as a "miracle".External links
- Para información del vuelo 8250 - AIRES