Accident Details
A twin-engine airplane chartered by Grupo San Germán Express departed from Medellín-Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport Runway 02, carrying a crew of two and six passengers bound for Pizarro, Chocó. During initial climb, the crew declared an emergency and reported an engine failure to air traffic control. The aircraft entered a left turn, lost altitude, and crashed into a house in the district of Belén Rosales, located 523 meters west of Runway 20 threshold and 2,325 meters from the departure point. The impact and subsequent fire destroyed both the house and the aircraft. All eight occupants were killed.
Aircraft and Occupants
The crew consisted of pilot Julián Aladino and copilot Sergio Guevara Delgado. The passengers were Jorge Cantillo Martínez, Dubán Ovalle Quintero, Anthony Mosquera Blanquiceth, Pedro Pablo Serna, Melissa Pérez Cuadros, and Nicolás Jiménez. The aircraft registration was HK-5121.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the accident resulted from a combination of factors: a loss of control in flight due to decreased minimum control speed and drag from a loss of power on the left engine (No. 1); a failure of the propeller feathering system on that engine caused by excessive grease accumulation in the blade coupling section, preventing rapid feathering; the uncontrolled propeller rotation created significant drag. The loss of power was of undetermined origin, probably due to a turbocharger malfunction. Additionally, the aircraft's weight exceeded the maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) by approximately 770 lb (349 kg), contributing to the inability to accelerate and climb.
Contributing factors included deficient operator maintenance processes for the propellers, failure to comply with Supplemental Type Certificate STC SA00192SE requirements for the increased MTOW (including incorporating a flight manual supplement and not extending wings or installing winglets), improper weight and balance procedures using average weights, and lack of risk analysis for operating aerodromes.