Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 901
| Occurrence summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 7 May 1981 |
| Summary | Bad weather leading to pilot error |
| Site | near Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Passengers | 26 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 31 (all) |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | BAC 1-11 |
| Operator | Austral Líneas Aéreas |
| Registration | LV-LOX |
| Flight origin | Teniente General Benjamín Matienzo International Airport |
| Destination | Buenos Aires Aeroparque Jorge Newbery |
Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 901 crashed in a river near Buenos Aires after succumbing to a thunderstorm. All 31 people on the BAC 1-11 were killed in the accident.
Accident sequence
The flight took off for Buenos Aires at 9:11 local time. The flight was uneventful until final approach. At 10:42, the flight was cleared to land at Runway 13 of Aeroparque Jorge Newbery. Visibility was reducing, and eventually the pilots lost sight of the runway and aborted the landing. The flight then conducted a go-around and started its second approach. When approaching the NDB, the flight was cleared to hold at 600 metres due to a cumulonimbus cloud ahead. They were then cleared for a straight-in approach to Runway 31. Shortly after, the crew lost control of the plane and it crashed into a river. All 26 passengers and five crew were killed in the disaster.[1][2]
Investigation
Investigations were hampered by the fact that only 55-65% of wreckage was recovered and after 42 days of searching, the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder were not recovered. The final investigation report blamed the pilots for underestimating the intensity of the storm.[1]
References
- 1 2 "ASN Aircraft accident BAC One-Eleven 529FR LV-LOX Buenos Aires-Jorge Newbery Airport, BA (AEP)". Aviation-safety.net. 1981-05-07. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
- ↑ Dwyer, Jeremy (2011-05-07). "On This Day in Aviation History: May 7th at NYCAviation". Nycaviation.com. Retrieved 2013-09-09.