Night Approach Accident at Tegucigalpa-Toncontin Airport (N88705)

Flight and Approach Profile After departing Managua without incident, the flight crew began a night descent to Tegucigalpa-Toncontin Airport. The standard approach to runway 01 required a three-step descent from an initial approach fix altitude of 7,500 feet. The crew instead began the descent early, at 11 nautical miles from the airport, using a constant descent profile. This deviation placed the aircraft below the intended glide path. At 4,000 feet, the aircraft impacted the slope of Cerro de Hula, which is 4,800 feet high and located 7.7 km short of runway 01. The aircraft disintegrated on impact. Fifteen people, including four crew members, were rescued, while 131 other occupants were killed.