Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Bluefields Niue
Tuesady, July 20, 1999 17:05 GMT

On July 20, 1999, about 1105 local, central standard time (CST), or 1705 coordinated universal time (UCT), a La Costena Cessna 208B Caravan, Nicaraguan registration YNCED) crashed in mountainous terrain about 30 nautical miles southwest of Bluefields, Nicaragua. Both pilots and all 14 passengers on board were fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed in the impact and post-crash fire. A visual flight plan was filed in the scheduled commuter operation under Nicaraguan civil air regulations. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The accident flight departed Augusto Cesar Sandino International Airport, Managua, Nicaragua (IATA designation: MGA / ICAO: MNMG; at 12 degrees 8 minutes North, 86 degrees 10 minutes West, elevation 194 feet msl) about 1009 local time, en route to Bluefields Airport (IATA: BEF / ICAO: MNBL; 11 degrees 59 minutes North, 83 degrees 46 minutes West, elevation 86 feet msl) approximately 180 statute miles east of Managua, on the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua. The airplane impacted at about 1,600 feet mean sea level (msl) near Silva Mountain (peak elevation 2,080) feet. Thundershowers had reportedly been forcasted en route, and witness, approximately one mile from the crash site, reported that there was rain and fog at the time of the impact, and they could not see the mountains in the vicinity of the impact. Approximately five minutes prior to impact, another scheduled flight operated by the airline, en route to Bluefields Airport behind the accident flight, reportedly asked for a position report and weather update from the accident flight. The accident captain radioed that they were approximately 12 miles from Bluefields Airport. The accident site, located at 11 degrees 51.915 minutes North, 84 degrees 12.343 minutes West, was south of the expected route of flight from Managua International Airport to Bluefields Airport. Due to weather conditions, the second airplane reportedly flew farther south than planned, then turned north to land at Bluefields Airport. The captain of the accident flight passed a Caravan 1 class at Flight Safety, November 8, 1996. He passed an operator-administered recurrent flight check, June 16, 1999. According to the operator, at the time of the accident, the captain accumulated a total of about 10,000 hours of flight time. The first officer completed an operator-administered recurrent flight check on July 15, 1999. The operator reported that at the time of the accident, he had accumulated a total of approximately 5,000 flight hours. The airplane was delivered by Cessna Aircraft in 1993, as serial no. 0341. At the time of the accident, the airframe accumulated about 9,303 total flight hours and 10,666 cycles. The last major maintenance check was June 3, 1999, at 9,102.6 total aircraft hours, and 10,499 cycles. The next check was due at 9,300.8 flight hours. At the time of the accident, the Pratt & Whitney of Canada PT6A-114 engine had accumulated 3080.4 total hours and 3,024 cycles since new. It was manufactured December 12, 1995, as serial no. 19393. The time since overhaul was 1,010.7 hours, and the cycles since overhaul were 1,109. The last shop visit date was October 22, 1998, and 4,889.3 hours remained on the engine until overhaul. The model 3GFR34C703-B propeller assembly was manufactured by McCauley as hub serial no. 981514, with blades model A106GAO, serial nos. SB025, SB026, SC036. The total time on the assembly was 1,713.9 hours, and the time since overhaul was 497.3 hours. The last overhaul of the assembly was April 26, 1999, and the time remaining to next overhaul was 3,502.7 hours. The Investigator-in-charge (IIC), Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC), Nicaragua, was assisted on-site by Henry J. Soderlund, Air Safety Investigator, Cessna Aircraft, Wichita, Kansas; and Gregory Ryan, Sr. Field Support Representative, Pratt & Whitney Canada, St. Hubert, Quebec. The IIC requested that the engine and propeller assemblies be examined under appropriate oversight. NTSB Air Safety Investigator, Allen Yurman, Southeast Regional Office, provided oversight of the propeller assembly examination in Opa Locka, Florida, August 1999. The engine was examined at Pratt & Whitney Canada, under oversight by the Transportation Safety Board Canada. For further information contact: Hugo A. Mendieta M. Investigator-in-Charge DGAC, Managua, Nicaragua tel. 2226958/2227516/2227517/ fax 2227516 U.S. Accredited Representative: Thomas R. Conroy, Sr. Air Safety Investigator, NTSB, AS-20, tel. (202) 314-6314 / fax -6329

Not Yet Reported