DHL Cargo Flight Crash Off Flores Island (CX-LAS)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On a cargo flight operated for DHL from Montevideo to Buenos Aires, the aircraft departed runway 24 at Montevideo-Carrasco Airport at 1945 local time. The crew received clearance to climb to flight level 080. While reaching 4,500 feet, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed into the sea at a speed of 570 knots, disintegrating off Flores Island. No trace of the cargo or crew was ever found. ## Search and Recovery Efforts The following day, few debris were found floating on the water. The main wreckage was localized two weeks later about one nautical mile south of Flores Island. The cockpit voice recorder was found on 02AUG2012 but was unreadable because its content concerned the last 30 minutes of the precedent flight. On 11FEB2013, fishermen found the cargo door in their fishnet. ## Probable Cause and Contributing Factors Investigations determined that both engines were running normally at impact, no propeller blades were lost during descent, fuel was not contaminated, and no problems occurred on the electrical system. The Meteorological Office confirmed that severe icing conditions prevailed at the time of the accident between flight levels 010 and 150. The loss of control was the consequence of erroneous indications of the flight instruments, associated with the possible formation of crystalline ice on the aircraft's structure, causing a loss of situational awareness of the crew.