What happened
On a scheduled flight departing Miami at 22:00 hours for Varadero, Flight 495 was diverted from its original route. While the aircraft was expected to arrive at approximately 22:49 hours, it failed to reach its destination, prompting an alert after no communication was received by the scheduled arrival time.
At roughly 02:10 hours, the aircraft type crashed into Nipe Bay in the Oriente Province. The flight, which included a crew of 4 and 16 passengers, resulted in 17 fatalities and only 3 survivors. Witnesses near the area reported seeing the aircraft circling several times before performing a wide turn over Antilla toward Preston Airport. During its final approach, the plane descended into the water approximately 400 meters from the coast and 2 km from the airport.
The impact with the water was forceful enough to reverse the aircraft's direction of travel, causing it to slide 200 meters along the muddy seabed at a depth of two fathoms. Post-accident recovery revealed significant structural damage: the tail section had separated from the fuselage and drifted 80 meters away, and while engines 3 and 4 remained intact, engine 1 was missing its hub and propeller.
Findings
Investigation into the wreckage showed that the cockpit remained largely intact, with evidence suggesting that standard landing procedures had been performed. However, the aircraft's fuel levels were critical; although it departed Miami with 1,600 gallons of fuel—providing an endurance of 3.47 hours—only 8 gallons remained at the time of impact. This meant the flight had exceeded its calculated endurance by 23 minutes.
Evidence suggests that the aircraft ran out of fuel during the final approach to Preston Airport. Additionally, reports indicated that five hijackers had entered the cockpit shortly after takeoff from Miami, forcing the crew to change course toward Antilla-Preston Airport.