Cubana de Aviación accidents and incidents

File:Cubana de Aviación Logo.jpg This article is part of the Cubana de Aviación series.

Accidents and incidents list

History of Cubana de Aviación

Cubana de Aviación destinations

Cubana de Aviación has been involved in 43 incidents and accidents between 1950 and 2003 with 544 fatalities. (Note: only fatal accidents are listed before 1990)

Incidents and accidents

1951 - 1970

• On April 25, 1951, Cubana de Aviacion Flight 493, a Douglas DC-4 on an international scheduled passenger flight from Miami (Miami International Airport) to Havana (José Martí International Airport), suffered a mid-air collision with a US Navy Beech SNB-1 Kansan shortly after departure. All 34 passengers and 5 crew members on board and the four crew members on the US Navy aircraft were killed.
• On December 6, 1952, a Cubana de Aviación Douglas DC-4 on an international scheduled passenger flight from Bermuda (Bermuda International Airport) to Havana (José Martí International Airport) crashed into the sea after takeoff, killing all 32 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The flight had originated in Madrid, with stops in Lisbon, the Azores, and Bermuda.
• On November 1, 1958, Cubana de Aviación flight 495, a Vickers Viscount 755D (CU-T603) on a scheduled passenger night flight from Miami (Miami International Airport) to Varadero, Cuba, was hijacked by Cuban revolutionaries. The hijackers' objective was to land near the Sierra Cristal mountains in Eastern Cuba, where 26th of July Movement guerrillas operated. The aircraft unsuccessfully tried to land during the night at the Preston sugar mill's airfield, which was located near the Sierra Cristal. The airfield was unsuited for the Viscount and the aircraft apparently ran out of fuel, crashing into the sea in the Bay of Nipe, breaking apart, and killing 13 of the 16 passengers and all four crew members on board.
• On October 29, 1960, a Cubana de Aviación Douglas DC-3 on a flight from Havana (José Martí International Airport), was taken over by nine hijackers and flown to Key West, (Key West International Airport) in Florida. The hijacking resulted in one fatality.
• On December 8, 1960, a Cubana de Aviación aircraft was taken over by five hijackers but was deliberately crashed by the pilot. The hijacking resulted in one fatality.
• On March 27, 1962, a Cubana de Aviación Ilyushin 14 (CU-T819) on a flight from Santiago de Cuba (Antonio Maceo Airport) to Havana (José Martí International Airport) crashed after departure. All of the 18 passengers and 4 crew members on board were killed and the aircraft was written off.
• On March 27, 1966, a Cubana de Aviación Ilyushin 18B (CU-T831) on a flight from Santiago de Cuba to Havana (José Martí International Airport) was hijacked by the flight engineer. The hijacking resulted in two fatalities.
• On February 9, 1967, a Cubana de Aviación Antonov 12BP (CU-T827) on a cargo flight from Havana, (José Martí International Airport) to Mexico City, (Benito Juárez International Airport) crashed during approach. All of the 6 passengers and 4 crew members on board were killed and the aircraft was written off.

1970 - 1979

• On July 11, 1971, a Cubana de Aviación aircraft was hijacked at Cienfuegos, Cuba (Cienfuegos Airport) resulting in one fatality. The two hijackers were taken down and the hijacking lasted less than one day.
• On March 18, 1976, a Cubana de Aviación Douglas DC-8-43 (CU-T1200) had a mid-air collision with a Cubana Antonov An-24 (CU-T879) on a training flight near Havana, Cuba. The DC-8 landed safely despite losing the outer portion of a wing, including an engine, while the Antonov 24 crashed killing the five crew members on board.
• On 6 October, 1976, sabotage brought down Cubana Flight 455, a Douglas DC-8-43 (CU-T1201) on a scheduled passenger flight from Bridgetown, Barbados (Grantley Adams International Airport) to Kingston, Jamaica (Norman Manley International Airport), (the aircraft was enroute from Georgetown, Guyana, to Havana and had made a scheduled stop in Port of Spain, Trinidad, before Barbados). Two bombs were placed on board by individuals allegedly linked to Luis Posada Carriles (a Cuban exile with past CIA connections, then serving as a high-level advisor in Venezuela's secret service), killing all 73 people on board. Among the dead were 24 members of Cuba's national fencing team, who had just been awarded gold medals in the Central American and Caribbean Championship Games, and a pregnant woman.

1980 - 1989

• On February 3, 1980, a Cubana de Aviación Yakovlev 40 (CU-T1219) crashed while landing at Baracoa (Baracoa Airport), Cuba. There was 1 fatality among the 33 passengers and 4 crew members and the aircraft was written off.
• On May 13, 1980, a Cubana de Aviación Ilyushin 14 (CU-T322) on a training flight crashed into the Caribbean at Varadero, Cuba. All 3 crew members were killed and the aircraft was written off.
• On January 19, 1985, a Cubana de Aviación Ilyushin 18D (CU-T899) on a scheduled international passenger flight from Havana (José Martí International Airport), Cuba to Managua (Augusto Sandino Airport), Nicaragua crashed shortly after take-off. All of the 33 passengers and 5 crew members were killed and the aircraft was written off.
• On March 11, 1987, a Cubana de Aviación Antonov 24RV (CU-T1262) on a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Nueva Gerona (Rafael Cabrera Airport), Cuba was hijacked. The hijacker was taken down and there was one fatality.
• On September 3, 1989, a Cubana de Aviación Ilyushin 62M (CU-T1281) on a non-scheduled international passenger flight from Havana (José Martí International Airport), Cuba to Cologne/Bonn (Cologne Bonn Airport), Germany crashed shortly after take-off. All of the 115 passengers and 11 crew members as well as 45 persons on the ground were killed and the aircraft was written off. Most of the passengers were Italian tourists, who returned from holidays. One of Them was Roberto Volponi, son of the famous writer Paolo.

1990 - 1999

• On March 23, 1990, a Cubana de Aviación Yakovlev 40S2 (CU-T1436) on a scheduled passenger flight from Santiago de Cuba (Antonio Maceo Airport), Cuba crashed after the crew aborted the take-off causing the aircraft to overrun the runway. 4 of the 41 passengers but none of the 5 crew members were killed and the aircraft was written off.
• On October 24, 1990, a Cubana de Aviación Yakovlev 40S2 (CU-T1202) on a domestic non-scheduled passenger flight from Camagüey (Ignacio Agramonte Airport), Cuba, to Santiago de Cuba (Antonio Maceo Airport), crashed 4 km short of the runway killing 9 of the 24 passengers and 2 of the 7 crew members on board. The aircraft was written off.
• On September 14, 1991, a Cubana de Aviación Tupolev 154B-2 (CU-T1227) on an international scheduled passenger flight to Mexico City (Benito Juarez International Airport), Mexico overran the runway upon landing. There were no fatalities among the 100 passengers and 12 crew, but the aircraft was written off.
• On July 11, 1997, a Cubana de Aviación Antonov An-24 (CU-T1262) on a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Santiago (Antonio Maceo Airport), Cuba to Havana (José Martí International Airport), Cuba crashed into the Caribbean off the southeastern coast of Cuba killing the 39 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The aircraft was written off.
• On August 29 1998, a Cubana de Aviación Tupolev 154M (CU-T1264) on a scheduled passenger flight from Quito (Mariscal Sucre Airport), Ecuador to Guayaquil (Simon Bolivar Airport), Ecuador crashed after the crew aborted the take-off with only 800 metres left of the runway. The aircraft overran the runway before coming to a stop. 56 of the 77 passengers and the entire crew of 14 were killed as well as 10 people on the ground, and the aircraft was written off.
• On December 21 1999, a Cubana de Aviación McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (F-GTDI) on lease from AOM French Airlines on an international non-scheduled passenger flight from Havana (José Martí International Airport) suffered a landing accident at Guatemala City (La Aurora Airport), Guatemala. The aircraft overran runway 19 and continued down a steep slope before coming to rest in a residential area. 8 of the 296 passengers and 8 of the 18 crew as well as 2 people on the ground were killed and the aircraft written off.
• On December 25 1999, a Cubana de Aviación Yakovlev 42D (CU-T1285) on a scheduled passenger flight from Havana (José Martí International Airport) crashed while on approach to Valencia (Arturo Michelena International Airport), Venezuela. All of the 10 passengers and 12 crew members onboard were killed and the aircraft was written off.

2000 -

• On March 31, 2003, a Cubana de Aviación Antonov An-24 (CU-T1294) on a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Nueva Gerona (Rafael Cabrera Airport) was forced to fly to Key West, Florida by a man with hand grenades. The plane had to stop in Havana (José Martí International Airport) for refueling. In Havana at least 26 of the 40 passengers and 6 crew members in the plane escaped or were released. The aircraft then proceeded on to Key West (Key West International Airport) where the FBI awaited the plane.
• On June 14, 2003 a Cubana de Aviación Antonov 24RV (CU-T1295) on an international scheduled passenger flight was damaged after a landing accident at Nueva Gerona (Rafael Cabrera Airport). A hydraulic failure rendered all systems dependent on hydraulic pressure inoperable. The crew were able to manually extend the landing gear but without flaps or brakes the aircraft was unable to stop on the runway. There were no fatalities among the 48 passengers and four crew members, but the aircraft was written off.

See also

• List of Cuba-US aircraft hijackings

External links

Official websites

• Cubana de Aviación

Other Websites

• Accident Database