Accident Details
The aircraft, a single-engine airplane, was operating a scheduled passenger flight from San José Airport to Puerto Jiménez, with an intermediate stop at Quepos Airport. On board were six passengers—three Americans, two Germans, and one Dutch national—and two pilots. While descending through clouds toward Quepos, the aircraft struck trees and impacted the slope of a wooded mountain approximately 13 kilometers from its destination. The impact forces totally destroyed the aircraft.
Casualties
Both pilots and one passenger sustained fatal injuries. The remaining five passengers suffered serious injuries.
Investigation and Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the accident was a controlled flight into terrain. The probable cause was a collision with terrain after the captain failed to ensure sufficient vertical, horizontal, and lateral separation to clear the mountains while descending under visual meteorological conditions. The crew did not take appropriate corrective actions to halt the descent before impact. Contributing factors included a momentary loss of situational awareness by the flight crew, inadequate supervision by the pilot-in-command, non-compliance with the operator's standard operating procedures, use of flight procedures that were not documented or approved, violation of safety rules, failure to apply visual flight rules, shortcomings in crew resource management, and adverse weather conditions.