Cubana de Aviacion Flight CU1216 Overrun and Crash (F-GTDI)

Incident Overview and Casualties A leased aircraft from AOM French Airlines was operating charter service CU1216 for Cubana de Aviacion from Havana to Guatemala City. The flight carried 18 crew members and 296 passengers, most of whom were young Guatemalan citizens studying medicine in Cuba. After landing on runway 19, the aircraft could not stop within the remaining runway distance. It overran the runway, descended an embankment, and struck several houses in the La Libertad district. The crash killed both pilots, six other crew members, eight passengers, and two people on the ground. A total of 57 people were injured, including 20 on the ground, while 261 occupants escaped uninjured. The aircraft was destroyed. ## Official Findings The official investigation identified the probable cause as a wrong approach configuration by the crew, which resulted in landing too far down the runway at excessive speed. The aircraft touched down between 1,220 and 1,320 metres past the runway threshold. Runway 29 was 2,767 metres long, and the available landing distance was calculated to have been reduced by 1,450 to 1,500 metres. ## Contributing Factors The investigation listed several contributing factors. The crew did not initiate a go-around when the landing procedure was clearly missed. The aircraft’s indicated airspeed was higher than specified, with an increase attributed to elevation and temperature. The initial gradient of the track required a vertical speed descent during leveling that was greater than usual. The aircraft floated during the flare phase, a condition facilitated by the use of the autopilot’s “CWS” mode, which was approved by the aircraft flight manual, and the commander did not take corrective action. A probable tailwind component was present, but the control tower did not provide exact information, and the crew did not monitor it because it was not part of their procedures and they did not feel the need to do so. The crew also failed to start braking immediately after touchdown, likely due to a false visual impression, which was compounded by their lack of prior experience with the approach and landing on runway 19 at Aurora Airport in this type of aircraft. The runway surface condition and the tailwind component were also identified as contributing factors.