American International Airways Flight 808 was a cargo flight operated by American International Airways (now Kalitta Air) that crashed on 18 August 1993, while attempting to land at Leeward Point Field at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. All three crew members on board survived with serious injuries.
== Background ==
=== Aircraft === The aircraft involved was N814CK, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61(F) manufactured in December 1969. Originally configured for passenger service in Japan Airlines, in 1991 it was sold to AIA and converted into a freighter. The aircraft had accumulated 43,947 flight hours and 18,829 flight cycles at the time of the accident. It was powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B engines.
=== Crew === In command was 54-year-old Captain James Chapo who had joined AIA on February 11, 1991, and had logged 20,727 flight hours. He previously flew for Eastern Air Lines from 1966 to 1991. His co-pilot was 49-year-old First Officer Thomas Curran who joined AIA on November 3, 1992, and had logged 15,350 flight hours. He previously flew for Eastern Air Lines from 1968 to 1992 and served with the U.S. Navy from 1963 to 1968 during the Vietnam War. The flight engineer was 35-year-old David Richmond who also joined AIA on February 11, 1991, and had logged 5,085 flight hours. He previously flew for Trans Continental Airlines from 1980 to 1991. The crew began their last shift before the accident near midnight on August 17, flying N814CK from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, Missouri, Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. The flight to Atlanta was supposed to be the end of the crew's shift. Flight 808 was originally scheduled for a separate crew in Miami, Florida using N808CK, another DC-8. This was canceled after N808CK suffered mechanical problems, so the accident crew were rescheduled to fly to Chambers Field in Norfolk, Virginia to pick up and deliver the freight bound for Guantánamo Bay and return to Atlanta.
== Accident == The flight took off from Norfolk at 14:13 EST. It was transporting mail and perishable food to the Guántanamo Bay Naval Base as per AIA's contract with the US Navy. The flight was uneventful up to and during the arrival into Guantánamo Bay's terminal control area. The crew first made radio contact with air traffic control at 16:34. The controller reported instructions for approaching the airport and also stated that the runway in use would be Runway 10. The crew requested for this to be changed to Runway 28, which the controller accepted and followed up on by issuing further landing instructions. However, at 16:42, the crew requested for the runway to be switched back to 10 again, which the controller also granted.
The plane had begun the turn too late, requiring it to make a steeper bank to align with the runway. A pilot of a Lockheed C-130 on the airport ramp stated "It looked to me as if he was turning to final rather late so it surprised me to see him at 30 to 40 degrees AOB [Angle of Bank] trying to make final. At 400 feet (120 m) above ground level, he increased AOB to at least 60 degrees in an effort to make the runway and still overshooting." At 200–300 feet (61–91 m) above ground level, the right wing stalled. The nose pitched down as the wings rolled toward 90 degrees and at 16:56, the aircraft struck level terrain 1,400 feet (470 yd; 430 m) from the end of the runway. The plane was destroyed by the impact and post-crash fire and none of its cargo was salvaged. The cockpit had separated on impact from the main wreckage and tumbled across the ground, coming to rest inverted with all 3 crew members alive inside, albeit with serious injuries. Firefighting efforts commenced within minutes, focusing first on the spot fires around the cockpit then the 35 acre fuel/brush fire which followed. Special permission was granted for a medical aircraft to overfly Cuban…