Accident Details
On a charter flight from Contamana Airport to Pucallpa, a twin-engine aircraft carrying 11 passengers and two pilots experienced a right engine failure shortly after takeoff while climbing to 4,500 feet. The crew returned to Contamana, where they successfully transferred fuel from the left tank to the right tank, allowing the right engine to restart. Despite the earlier issue, the crew decided to continue the flight, climbing to an altitude of 13,500 feet.
At a distance of approximately 42 kilometers from Pucallpa, the crew began their descent. During this phase, the right engine failed again, followed shortly by the left engine. The captain declared an emergency and attempted an emergency landing, but the aircraft crashed in a wooded area, resulting in injuries to all 13 occupants and the destruction of the aircraft.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the accident was caused by a double engine failure in flight due to fuel starvation, which forced the crew to attempt an emergency landing in trees. Contributing factors included recurrent failures of the aircraft's fuel quantity indicators on the ground and in flight, a situation that persisted because the maintenance program did not include inspection and calibration of the fuel quantity gauges. Additionally, the flight was initiated with an inoperative fuel indication system, and the crew demonstrated complacency by deciding to continue the flight when a nearby airport was available after the first engine failure.