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Cubana de Aviación Flight 9046

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Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Cubana de Aviación Flight 9046, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 29 November 20259 sources
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Cubana de Aviación Flight 9046 was a chartered flight operated by Cubana using an Ilyushin Il-62M aircraft registered as CU-T1281. On 3 September 1989, the plane crashed shortly after departing from José Martí International Airport.[1] The flight was a non-scheduled international service connecting Havana with Cologne and Milan. Tragically, the disaster claimed the lives of all 126 people on board along with 24 individuals on the ground.[1] This accident remains the deadliest aviation incident in Cuban history.[2]

Crew

The captain commanding the flight was Armando Oliveros Arguelles, aged 50, who had amassed a total flying experience of 12,790 hours, including 6,487 hours specifically on the Il-62M. First Officer Miguel Ruiz Ravelo, aged 40, served as co-pilot and had accumulated 7,559 flight hours with 2,872 of those on the Il-62M. Navigating duties were handled by Tomas Estrada Garcia, aged 55, whose total flight time reached 17,675 hours, including 6,917 hours on this aircraft type. The maintenance team consisted of two mechanics: Fernando Diaz de los Arcos (45 years old), with a total of 11,554 flight hours and 5,191 on the Il-62M; and Luis Herrera Altuna (42 years old), who had logged a total of 1,249 flight hours.[1]

Accident

The airplane departed amid heavy rainfall and wind gusts ranging from 30–50 miles per hour (48–80 km/h).[3][4] Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew adjusted the flaps from an initial 30° setting down to 15° in an effort to increase speed; however, this modification diminished the wing's capacity to generate lift.[5] The aircraft ascended to approximately 53 metres (174 ft), where it encountered a strong downdraft that forced the airframe to collide with the runway's end. It then struck a navigational aid and a small hill before crashing into a nearby residential zone roughly one minute following liftoff.[5][3][4] All 126 occupants on board — consisting of 115 passengers, predominantly Italian tourists, and 11 crew members —[4][6] lost their lives in the incident. Additionally, 40 individuals on the ground sustained injuries, with 24 fatalities resulting from the crash.[3]

Cause

The investigation concluded that Flight 9046 crashed due to the pilot's decision to proceed with takeoff despite a sudden worsening of weather conditions. The pilot underestimated the hazards associated with departing under such circumstances and miscalculated the aircraft's capabilities in adverse meteorological conditions.[7]

Victims

  • 115 passengers
  • 11 crew members
  • 24 fatalities on the ground

Initially, only a single passenger survived the crash. This individual lived for nine days before succumbing to injuries sustained in the accident.[8][9]

See also

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Notes

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named :0
  2. ↑ "Cuba plane crash leaves more than 100 dead". BBC News. 18 May 2018. Cuba's deadliest air crash was in 1989, when a Soviet-made Ilyushin-62M passenger plane crashed near Havana killing 126 people on board and another 24 people on the ground. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Template:ASN accident
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Il-62 crashes". Flight International: 4. 9 September 1989. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Cubana Il-62 crash report cites pilot error as cause". Flight International: 17. 23 September 1989. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Jet With 54 on Board Missing in Brazil: Disappears Over Amazon; Toll in Cuban Crash May Reach 150". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 5 September 1989. Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. It was carrying 113 Italians, two Cubans and a crew of 11, said the Cuban ambassador to Rome, Javier Ardizones. 
  7. ↑ Gero, David (1996). Aviation Disasters Second Edition. Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 212.
  8. ↑ "Only Survivor of Crash That Killed 150 Fights for Life". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  9. ↑ "Only Survivor of Cuban Airliner Crash Dies". Los Angeles Times. 13 September 1989. Retrieved 24 May 2020.

External links

Template:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1989 Template:Aviation accidents and incidents in Cuba

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