Investigation Summary
The aircraft, a 39-year-old Boeing 737-200, was being operated by the Mexican charter company Global Air (Damojh Aerolíneas) under a wet-lease agreement for Cubana de Aviación. Investigation revealed that the load sheet provided to the crew contained significant errors: the cabin configuration on the sheet did not match the actual layout of XA-UHZ, and the weight of luggage and fuel was incorrectly recorded. While the crew calculated a Center of Gravity (CG) of 17.4 percent, the actual CG was 28.5 percent, which is nearly at the aircraft's rear limit of 29 percent. Based on their incorrect calculations, the pilots set the stabilizer trim to 5 3/4 units instead of the required 3 1/4 units. This configuration caused the aircraft to rotate aggressively upon liftoff. The crew was also noted to be engaged in non-flight related conversations during taxi, which may have contributed to a lack of focus on the critical weight and balance discrepancies.
Final Conclusions
The Comisión de Investigación de Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviación (CEIAA) concluded that the most probable cause was the aircraft entering abnormal attitudes immediately after liftoff, leading to a loss of control. This was the result of a chain of human factor errors, specifically inconsistencies in crew training, errors in weight and balance calculations, and low operational standards during the flight. The final report was completed in mid-2019.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 ( Boeing 737 Crashed to ... — On May 18, 2018, a 39-year-old Boeing 737-200 crashed shortly after takeoff from Havana, Cuba, resulting in 112 fatalities.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain Jorge Nuñez Santos
Age 53
First Officer Miguel Arreola Ramírez
Age 40
Systems & Failure Modes
Horizontal Stabilizer Trim
Used to maintain the aircraft's pitch attitude; it was set to 5 3/4 units based on incorrect weight data, causing an excessive pitch-up on rotation.
GPWS
The Ground Proximity Warning System alerted the crew to the excessive bank angle during the brief flight.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was 39 years old at the time of the accident.
- 02The actual takeoff weight was approximately 104,000 pounds, while the load sheet stated 99,900 pounds.
- 03The center of gravity was at 28.5 percent, just 0.5 percent away from the aft limit.
- 04Global Air had its operations suspended by Mexican authorities three days after the crash.
- 05The aircraft had previously been banned from Guyanese airspace in 2017 due to overloading issues.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Operational Audit
Mexico's National Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC) launched an operational audit of Global Air to verify regulatory compliance.
Suspension of Operations
Mexican authorities temporarily suspended Global Air's operations on May 21, 2018, following the accident and emerging safety concerns.
Known Controversies & Unanswered Questions
Premature Cause Release by Global Air
Reference ↗Global Air released a statement blaming pilot error before the official investigation was complete, leading to criticism from the Mexican pilots union (ASPA) that the airline was protecting its own interests.
Location
ACCIDENT SITE · Coordinates taken from the entered by an editor.