What happened
On the morning of the accident, a scheduled domestic flight departed from La Mesa Airport in the Cortis Department, bound for Toncontín, Tegucigalpa. The aircraft, carrying 50 passengers and five crew members, took off at 0815 hours with an initial takeoff weight of 75,023 lbs. During the flight, the crew contacted the Toncontín control tower near El Rancho to request a frequency change and was cleared to enter the landing circuit for runway 01.
Upon approaching the runway, the pilot deployed the landing gear and flaps. The aircraft touched down smoothly on runway 01 at an indicated airspeed of approximately 100 knots. Immediately following the nose-wheel touchdown, the pilot attempted to engage the propeller reverse system by withdrawing the safety lock; however, the throttle controls failed to move into the required rearward position. After three unsuccessful attempts to shift the throttles, the pilot opted to rely on the aircraft's brakes to decelerate.
During the landing roll, two tires burst at different points along the runway. As the aircraft approached the end of the runway, the pilot attempted a 180-degree turn to avoid the upcoming slope, resulting in a ground loop. The wide radius of this turn caused the nose-wheel to enter a drainage ditch. This impact caused the left undercarriage to become stuck and the nose-wheel to break off. The subsequent movement ruptured the left wing fuel tanks, and the engines sustained damage. A fire ignited from the combination of intense brake heat, spilled fuel, and dry grass, leading to the total destruction of the aircraft. The accident resulted in 4 fatalities and 51 survivors.
Findings
While investigators could not definitively confirm a cause due to the intensity of the post-crash fire, the crew reported that the failure of the reverse pitch control mechanism prevented effective deceleration.