SANSA Flight Collision with Arenal Volcano (HP-1357APP)

Incident Overview and Flight Details A single-engine aircraft operated by SANSA - Servicios Aéreos Nacionales departed San Juan Airport at 1138LT on a flight to Tamarindo, with an intermediate stop at La Fortuna. At La Fortuna Airport, a Japanese tourist was dropped off, and the aircraft took off at 1205LT. ## Collision and Casualties Approximately five minutes after takeoff, while cruising in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) at an altitude of 5,380 feet, the aircraft struck the slope of Arenal Volcano. The wreckage was located about 200 metres below the summit. All 10 occupants were killed. ## Occupants The crew consisted of pilot Karl Acevedo Neverman and copilot William Badilla Salazar. The passengers were Terry Pratt, Silvia Rhissiner, Catherine Shoep, Steven Bohmer, Helena Gutierrez-Bohmer, Frank Consolazio, Yudi Consolazio, and Cristopher Damia. ## Official Findings The official probable cause was controlled flight into terrain after the crew continued under VFR mode in IMC conditions. Findings included the pilot's unsafe flying and failure to maintain adequate vertical and horizontal separation from mountainous terrain, as well as a failure to remain in visual meteorological conditions (VMC). The report also identified a lack of timely corrective action by the crew, loss of situational awareness and attention, inadequate monitoring and enforcement by the pilot not flying, lack of adherence to SANSA standard operating procedures, use of flight procedures that were not written or approved, and a lack of culture regarding operational safety.