.jpg) HK-4374X, the aircraft involved, photographed on 27 July 2005, 20 days before the accident | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 16 August 2005 |
| Summary | Deep stall due to pilot error |
| Site | Machiques, Zulia, Venezuela 9°39′59″N 72°36′40″W / 9.66639°N 72.61111°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas MD-82 |
| Operator | West Caribbean Airways (chartered by the Globe Trotters de Rivière Salée travel agency) |
| IATA flight No. | YH708 |
| ICAO flight No. | WCW708 |
| Call sign | WHISKY CHARLIE WHISKY 708[1]: 146–155 |
| Registration | HK-4374X |
| Flight origin | Tocumen International Airport, Panama |
| Destination | Martinique Aimé Césaire Int'l Airport, Martinique |
| Occupants | 160 |
| Passengers | 152 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 160 |
| Survivors | 0 |
West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 was a charter flight that crashed in northwest Venezuela in the early hours of 16 August 2005, killing all 160 passengers and crew on board. The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, registration HK-4374X, was en route from Tocumen International Airport (PTY) in Panama City, Panama, to Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport (FDF) in Fort-de-France, Martinique, France. While flying at 33,000 ft (10,000 m), the aircraft's speed gradually decreased until it entered an aerodynamic stall. The crew, probably under the mistaken belief that the aircraft had suffered a double engine flameout, did not take the necessary actions to recover from the stall. The confusion and lack of action resulted in the crash.[1]: 123–124
The death toll made the accident the deadliest of 2005, the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Venezuela, and the second deadliest involving a McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series.[2][3][4][5][6][excessive citations]
- ^ a b "Informe Final Caso West Caribbean HK4374X" [Final Report West Caribbean Case HK4374X] (PDF) (in Spanish). Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Board. JIAAC-9-058-2005. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2019 – via Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) HK-4374X Machiques". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "2005". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "Venezuela air safety profile". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "McDonnell Douglas MD-80". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ "160 believed dead in Venezuela jet crash". CNN. 16 August 2005. Retrieved 25 March 2021.