Accident Details
A cargo flight scheduled to operate from Medellín, Colombia, to Miami, Florida, experienced technical issues with engine number 4. The operator and crew decided to ferry the aircraft to Miami using three engines, with the fourth engine running at idle. Takeoff was initiated from Runway 01 at Medellín-Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport.
Almost immediately after takeoff, the aircraft rolled to the right to an angle of 90 degrees and crashed in an industrial zone located 350 meters past the runway end, bursting into flames. The aircraft was totally destroyed. All three crew members—pilot Hugo Molina Jaraba, copilot Pedro Gerardo Ramirez Restrepo, and flight engineer George Gilbert—were killed, as were 22 people on the ground.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined the probable cause as a combination of the following factors:
- Decision of the crew and the Operator to initiate a flight with one engine partially inoperative.
- The crew did not receive specific training for such a flight configuration.
- The Operator failed to request appropriate permission from the Authority to perform such a ferry flight.
- The conditions of the takeoff maneuver with the engine number 4 reduced and an irregular procedure in the directional control of the airplane determined a low speed condition that resulted in a total loss of control at the beginning of rotation.