Investigation Summary
The accident occurred during the peak of Holy Week, a period of high demand for the regional carrier. The crew had already completed four round trips between Providencia and San Andres that morning. During the fifth takeoff, the left engine (engine 1) suffered a flameout for undetermined reasons. Despite the failure occurring near decision speed (V1), the crew continued the climb. The investigation highlighted a series of critical errors: the pilots failed to retract the flaps, did not utilize contingency power, and mishandled the fuel-flow-control levers (FCL). Specifically, the crew erroneously moved the FCL for the failed left engine from open to closed while also inappropriately adjusting the FCL for the remaining good engine. These actions, combined with a steep climbing attitude that bled off airspeed, led the aircraft to reach stall speed at an altitude of approximately 300 feet. The aircraft then rolled sharply to the right and crashed approximately 113 meters from the threshold of Runway 17. The final report also noted systemic issues, including the airline's precarious financial situation and personal stressors affecting the Captain, which likely degraded the crew's situational awareness and cockpit resource management.
Final Conclusions
The Colombian Aerocivil concluded the primary cause was the crew's non-observance of procedures for engine failure after V1. Contributing factors included the failure to maintain a safe takeoff speed of 84 knots, improper manipulation of fuel-flow-control levers, and a lack of effective Crew Resource Management (CRM). The investigation also cited the airline's financial instability and the Captain's personal life as factors that may have reduced the crew's situational awareness.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Age 42; Rodolfo Blanco Martínez.
First Officer
Age 26; Edwin Dagoberto Giraldo Florez.
Systems & Failure Modes
Fuel-Flow-Control Lever (FCL)
Levers used to manage fuel supply to the engines; the crew erroneously moved the lever for the failed engine to the closed position and mishandled the lever for the operating engine.
Contingency Power
An emergency power setting for the Let L-410 engines intended for use during engine-out scenarios, which the crew failed to activate.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was 15 years old and had accumulated 6,901 flight hours.
- 02The left engine failed during the takeoff roll, but the crew elected to continue the flight rather than abort.
- 03The aircraft reached a maximum bank angle of 135 degrees before impact.
- 04One passenger initially survived the impact but died later at the hospital.
- 05The airline was under significant financial pressure at the time of the accident.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Airline Sanctions
Following the accident and subsequent audits, Colombian authorities fined West Caribbean Airways for overloading aircraft and violating crew rest requirements.
Location
APPROXIMATE POSITION · AIRPORT LEVEL · Coordinates are the estimate published in the official investigation report. The ring shows the accuracy the record supports, not the point of impact.