Thursday, December 29, 2016

Colombian Authorities: Pilot Error Caused Avro RJ85 Crash

Pilot error was to blame for the crash of an Avro RJ85 regional jet in Colombia last month, the Colombian civil aeronautics agency Aeronáutica Civil said on December 26. Seventy-one of 77 occupants died in the crash of the four-engine jet operated by Bolivian airline LaMia.

“No technical factor was part of the accident; everything involved human error,” Col. Freddy Bonilla, Colombia’s secretary for air safety, said in a press statement. He also faulted the airline’s management and Bolivia’s oversight of the flight plan.

LaMia Flight LMI-2966, a charter flight carrying Brazil’s Chapecoense soccer team and a group of journalists from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, crashed into a hillside near Medellin, Colombia, on November 28 because it ran out of fuel, preliminary results of the investigation indicate. The crew was waiting for clearance to land at José María Córdova International Airport outside Medellin.

The airplane also exceeded its weight limit by 400 kilograms (882 pounds) and was not certified to fly at the altitude that it flew on the route. Bolivia’s aviation authorities and LaMia “accepted conditions for the flight presented in the flight plan that were unacceptable,” Bonilla said.

Aeronáutica Civil said it expects the final accident report to be published in April 2017. A team of 23 investigators have been involved, including officials from Bolivia, Brazil, the UK and the U.S.


(Bill Carey - AINOnline News)

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