What happened
On January 25, 1990, at approximately 21:34 EST, Avianca Airlines Flight 052, a Boeing 707-321B with registration HK-2016, crashed in a wooded residential area in Cove Neck, Long Island, NY. The aircraft was operating as a scheduled international passenger flight from Bogota, Colombia, to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), with an intermediate stop at Jose Maria Cordova Airport near Medellin, Colombia.
Due to poor weather conditions in the northeastern United States, Air Traffic Control placed the flightcrew in holding patterns on three separate occasions, totaling approximately 1 hour and 17 minutes. During the third period of holding, the crew reported that the aircraft could not maintain holding for more than five minutes because it was running out of fuel. The crew also indicated they were unable to reach their alternate airport, Boston-Logan International.
Following these reports, the flightcrew executed a missed approach at John F. Kennedy International Airport. While attempting to return to the airport, the aircraft experienced a loss of power to all four engines and crashed approximately 16 miles from the airport. Of the 158 persons on board, there were 73 fatal injuries.