Prinair Flight 277

Prinair

Industry	Airline
Headquarters	San Juan , Puerto Rico

Prinair Flight 277 was a regularly scheduled passenger route operated by the Puerto Rican carrier Prinair. The service connected Harry S. Truman Airport in Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands with Isla Verde International Airport (also known as Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport) located in Carolina, Puerto Rico, close to San Juan. On March 5, 1969, the aircraft involved, a de Havilland Heron 2D bearing the registration N563PR, tragically collided with mountainous terrain near Fajardo, causing the loss of all 19 individuals aboard.

Flight

At 5:15 p.m. on March 5, 1969, Prinair Flight 277 took off from Charlotte Amalie for its brief journey to San Juan’s primary airport. The flight proceeded without incident until it entered the airspace over Puerto Rico’s main island. At an altitude of 4,000 feet, the pilot established contact with San Juan approach control. However, the controller on duty was a trainee who incorrectly assumed the aircraft was close to San Juan when it was actually near the "Fajardo intersection" by Luquillo. The controller directed the flight to maintain a heading of 250° for an ILS final approach and to descend to 3,000 feet.

Relying on these instructions, the flight crew adjusted their course accordingly for landing on runway 7. Unfortunately, this guidance inadvertently directed the plane into mountainous regions. At approximately 5:38 p.m., just 23 minutes post-departure, Flight 277 crashed amidst the trees of the Sierra Luquillo mountain range, resulting in total fatalities among passengers and crew.

Investigation

The investigation conducted by the NTSB determined that survival was impossible in this accident. Examination of the approach controller’s personal environment revealed a seemingly normal family lifestyle. On March 17, 1969, it was revealed that three years before the crash, a flight surgeon had referred this controller to psychiatric and psychological professionals. Moreover, on the day of the accident, March 5, he reported feeling anxious and under stress.

The crash site encompassed multiple peaks exceeding , combined with weather conditions that would have limited pilot visibility of these hazards. The controller had an erroneous perception that the aircraft was positioned further west than its true location. Around 5:33 p.m., five minutes prior to impact, supervisory staff reassigned this controller to different duties and tasked his instructor with other responsibilities. At that time, he was managing traffic for five flights simultaneously, including Prinair Flight 277; pilots reported interference caused by transmissions from the instructor.

Additional significant factors contributing to the accident were identified throughout the inquiry.

See also

• Controlled flight into terrain
• List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
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