Conviasa Flight 2350
Encyclopedia
On September 13, 2010, Conviasa Flight 2350, operated by an ATR 42-320, registration
YV1010, crashed shortly before landing in Manuel Carlos Piar Guayana Airport
, Ciudad Guayana
, on a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Santiago Mariño International Airport, Porlamar
, Isla Margarita
, Venezuela
killing 17 of the 51 people on board.
, registration YV1010, c/n 371. The aircraft made its first flight on 7 February 1994. It had originally served with Gill Airways
before being sold to Air Wales
. The aircraft was bought by Conviasa in September 2006. At the time of the accident, it had accumulated over 25,000 flight hours and completed over 27,000 landings.
Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile
(BEA). The BEA provided two investigators, and ATR provided three technical advisers.
declared three days of national mourning after the crash.
As a result of the crash, on 13 September 2010 Trinidad and Tobago
's Civil Aviation Authority suspended Conviasa's services into that country. After the suspension, there were concerns about Trinidadian residents being stranded on Margarita Island. Conviasa, as of 2010, was the only airline to offer direct flights from Trinidad to Margarita Island, offering two or three flights per week.
On September 17, 2010, the Government of Venezuela grounded all Conviasa flights so that it could perform a technical review of the airline's fleet. The airline said that the temporary suspension would remain in effect until October 1, 2010, and that during the shutdown, passengers would be carried on other airlines.
Aircraft registration
An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
YV1010, crashed shortly before landing in Manuel Carlos Piar Guayana Airport
Manuel Carlos Piar Guayana Airport
Manuel Carlos Piar Guayana Airport , is an airport serving the cities of Ciudad Guayana and Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela.-Airlines and destinations:*Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela *Aserca Airlines...
, Ciudad Guayana
Ciudad Guayana
Ciudad Guayana is a city in Bolívar State, Venezuela. It lies south of the Orinoco, where the river is joined by the Caroní River. The city, officially founded in 1961, is actually composed of the old town of San Félix at the east and the new town of Puerto Ordaz at the west, which lie either...
, on a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Santiago Mariño International Airport, Porlamar
Porlamar
Porlamar is the largest city on Isla Margarita, Nueva Esparta State in Venezuela. It was founded on the southeast coast in 1536, less than 40 years after Christopher Columbus first sailed through. Porlamar was a quiet fishing village until the arrival of air travel...
, Isla Margarita
Isla Margarita
Margarita Island is the largest island of the state of Nueva Esparta in Venezuela, situated in the Caribbean Sea, off the northeastern coast of the country. The state also contains two other smaller islands: Coche and Cubagua. The capital city of Nueva Esparta is La Asunción, located in a river...
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
killing 17 of the 51 people on board.
Aircraft
The accident aircraft was an ATR 42-320ATR 42
-Civil operators:The largest operators of the ATR-42 are FedEx Express, Airlinair, TRIP Linhas Aéreas,and Mexico City-based Aeromar respectively. Number of aircraft as of 2010:Some 70 other airlines operate smaller numbers of the type....
, registration YV1010, c/n 371. The aircraft made its first flight on 7 February 1994. It had originally served with Gill Airways
Gill Airways
Gill Airways was a regional airline with its head office in New Aviation House on the grounds of Newcastle Airport in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, United Kingdom....
before being sold to Air Wales
Air Wales
Air Wales was an airline based at Cardiff International Airport in Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan. It operated scheduled regional services within Great Britain, as well as to Ireland, Belgium and France...
. The aircraft was bought by Conviasa in September 2006. At the time of the accident, it had accumulated over 25,000 flight hours and completed over 27,000 landings.
Passengers and crew
47 passengers were on board the aircraft, including two French citizens. The aircraft had four crew members.Crash
The pilots of the aircraft reported control problems shortly before landing. Witnesses said that the aircraft struck power lines at low altitude at 09:59 local time, and went down on a wasteland where materials used in a steel mill were stored. The steel mill was evacuated following the accident. Dozens of workers from the steel mill and firefighters pulled the survivors from the burning wreckage.Casualties
While the death toll was initially reported as 14, later reports revised it upwards to 15 and later to 17 as survivors of the initial crash died of injuries sustained. A total of 34 people survived the crash. The governor of Bolívar State where the crash occurred, Rangel Gomez, called the number of survivors a "miracle." Both the pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash.Investigation
Venezuelan transport minister Francisco Garces announced that representatives from Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) planned to visit the crash site and assist the investigation. Assistance in the investigation is to be given by the FrenchFrance
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...
Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile
Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation Civile
The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile is an agency of the French government, responsible for investigating aviation accidents and making safety recommendations based on what is learned from those investigations. It is headquartered in Building 153 on the grounds...
(BEA). The BEA provided two investigators, and ATR provided three technical advisers.
Aftermath
President of Venezuela Hugo ChávezHugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
declared three days of national mourning after the crash.
As a result of the crash, on 13 September 2010 Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
's Civil Aviation Authority suspended Conviasa's services into that country. After the suspension, there were concerns about Trinidadian residents being stranded on Margarita Island. Conviasa, as of 2010, was the only airline to offer direct flights from Trinidad to Margarita Island, offering two or three flights per week.
On September 17, 2010, the Government of Venezuela grounded all Conviasa flights so that it could perform a technical review of the airline's fleet. The airline said that the temporary suspension would remain in effect until October 1, 2010, and that during the shutdown, passengers would be carried on other airlines.
See also
- Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518 was an ATR 42-300 twin-turboprop aircraft, registration YV1449, operating as a scheduled domestic flight from Mérida, Venezuela to Caracas that crashed into the side of a mountain on 21 February 2008, shortly after takeoff. There were 43 passengers on board, with a...
, the previous major aircraft accident in Venezuela.
External links
- Conviasa
- "Conviasa flight accident in Venezuela." ATR. September 14, 2010.
- "Flight VO 2350 on 13 September 2010 ATR 42-320, registered YV-1010." Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation CivileBureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'Aviation CivileThe Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile is an agency of the French government, responsible for investigating aviation accidents and making safety recommendations based on what is learned from those investigations. It is headquartered in Building 153 on the grounds...