Accident Overview
On July 2, 2004, at 1338 eastern standard time, a U.S.-registered Westwind model 1124 corporate jet, registration N280AT, operated by Air Trek, Inc., as a Part 135 commercial air ambulance flight, impacted terrain and crashed into a building after departing from Tocumen International Airport (MPTY) in Tocumen, Panama. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and post-crash fire. All six occupants on board were fatally injured, and a seventh person on the ground was also fatally injured.
Flight History
The flight originated from Quito, Ecuador, and stopped in Tocumen for fuel. It was destined for Milan, Italy, with a planned fuel and crew-change stop at Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC. According to the operator, the airplane had flown with two pilots and two flight nurses from Punta Gorda, Florida, to Guayaquil, Ecuador, on July 1, 2004. Upon arrival in Guayaquil, it was refueled with 450 gallons of Jet A and remained overnight. On July 2, an additional 150 gallons of Jet A were added before departure for Quito. Two passengers were boarded in Quito, and the flight continued to Panama. The airplane was not refueled in Quito.
Refueling and Takeoff
Upon landing in Panama, the flight crew requested 600 gallons of Jet A from ground service: 500 gallons via the pressure point fueling station and 100 gallons to the auxiliary tank via a gravity filler port. After refueling, the airplane started and taxied to runway 03L. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed.
Accident Sequence
An air traffic controller observed the airplane during takeoff. He recalled that it "pitched up vertically, the nose then lowered, and the wings rocked side to side. The airplane then veered to the right and descended out of view." A witness north of the accident site also saw the airplane veer right before descending from view. The airplane impacted the ground on taxiway Hotel, north of taxiway Bravo, and a fire ensued. The right wing and right engine separated from the fuselage and fragmented. The vertical stabilizer impacted the ground and separated. The main fuselage, left wing, and left engine continued across a grass field, struck an airport worker, and impacted a concrete wall before coming to rest inverted inside a building. Airport crash fire and rescue contained the post-crash fire within three minutes.
Wreckage Path
The wreckage path was oriented on a heading of about 80 degrees. Ground scars on the taxiway were consistent with the right wing tip tank impacting the surface with the airplane in a nose-high attitude, banked 90 degrees to the horizon. The scars continued forward as the airplane rolled onto its back, collapsing the vertical stabilizer. About 35 feet beyond the vertical stabilizer impact point, scars from the left tip tank were observed. Debris from the cockpit and forward cabin was found in the grass area along the path.
Probable Cause
The official probable cause was the loss of control during takeoff due to the lack of criteria and decision-making by the flight crew, not having followed the procedures established by the operator, aggravated by a center of gravity beyond the rear limit.