What happened
During operations at Quito-Marical Sucre Airport, the crew encountered an initial issue involving a blocked pneumatic valve while attempting to start an engine while parked on the apron. After resolving this issue, two engines were successfully started using a ground power unit, and the third engine was brought online during taxi.
As the aircraft reached rotation speed (Vr) on runway 17, the pilot-in-command attempted to rotate the aircraft, but the aircraft failed to respond to the control inputs. Following a ten-second delay in decision-making by the crew, an aborted takeoff was initiated. The captain applied emergency braking; however, the remaining 800 meters of runway were not enough to bring the plane to a halt.
The aircraft subsequently overran the runway, colliding with a concrete wall and an auto spare parts building before coming to rest near a soccer field. The impact caused the aircraft to burst into flames. The accident resulted in 80 fatalities (comprising 70 people on board and 10 individuals on the ground) and 36 injuries (21 passengers/crew and 15 persons on the ground), with several injuries noted as serious. At the time of the incident, the aircraft's total weight was 73,309 kilograms, which was within operational limits.
Findings
Investigations into the accident determined that there were no technical malfunctions found within the engines or the airframe itself. The primary factor was identified as a failure by the crew to adhere to the required taxi and pre-takeoff checklists, specifically neglecting to engage the hydraulic valve switches for the control system.