Avianca Flight 410 was a Boeing 727-21 that crashed at 13:17 on 17 March 1988, near Cúcuta, Colombia, which occurred shortly after takeoff during a scheduled flight when it flew into a mountain. All 143 people on board were killed. It was the deadliest aviation accident to occur in Colombia until American Airlines Flight 965.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved, manufactured in 1966, was a Boeing 727-21 owned and operated by Avianca. It was registered as HK-1716 serial number 18999. It had flown previously with Pan Am, originally registered as N321PA and named Clipper Koln-Bonn; it was sold on 20 September 1974, to Avianca. It had logged 43,848 hours of airframe time and was powered by three Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7A engines.

Description

The plane took off from Cúcuta at around 13:17 from runway 33 bound for Cartagena. There was no further information from the plane until ground witnesses claimed that they saw a Boeing 727 flying too low. The plane contacted some trees and then, at 13:18, it struck the mountain head on. The 727 broke in half and disintegrated when the fuel exploded; the remains were scattered in a radius. There were no survivors among the 7 crew and 136 passengers.

See also

  • List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
  • Avianca Flight 011 - another plane of Avianca that crashed in Spain five years prior in similar circumstances
  • Prinair Flight 277

References

  • ICAO reports:
  • ICAO Circular 2660-AN/154 (12-26)
  • ICAO Adrep Summary 2/88 (#5)
  • Final report (Archive) - Civil Aviation Department, Colombia, prepared by Harro Ranter, Aviation Safety Network. Source: Aircraft Accident Digest (ICAO Circular 260-AN/154) p. 12-26. (In Spanish) Bureau of Aircraft Accident Archives: Informe final