TAME 737-200 crash
Encyclopedia
The 1983 TAME Boeing 737
-200 crash was an aviation incident in which a Boeing 737-200 Advanced, operated by the Ecuadorian national airline TAME
, which was making a domestic route from Mariscal Sucre International Airport
to Mariscal Lamar Airport
, came down to a hill during final approach just one mile from its final destination, killing all 119 onboard including the flight crew. The crash was the first and deadliest crash in the history of the airline, and it remains as the deadliest plane crash of the history of Ecuadorian aviation. An investigation later determined that the flight crashed due to the flight crew's lack of experience on the aircraft type, which caused to enter into a controlled flight into terrain
.
-2V2 Advanced, with the engine model JT8D-17 of the American engine manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney
. When it was delivered by Boeing
, it was originally registered as N8283V, but when it arrived in the TAME fleet in 1981, its registration and livery changed to HC-BIG. It was nicknamed by TAME as "Ciudad de Loja".
, in Quito, for a domestic flight to Mariscal Lamar Airport
, in Cuenca, with 111 passengers and 8 crew members. Some minutes later, the crew experienced some bad weather conditions during the final approach to the airport, and they contacted to the Cuenca tower for permission to land the plane, which was granted. During the next few and final minutes of the flight, the pilots suffered from spatial disorientation, because they were preoccupied trying to find the runway in middle of a extensive fog, and did not understand some of the plane's controls. At around this time, the plane began to a controlled flight into terrain, towards a mountain.
Seconds later, and one mile from the airport, the crew realised that the plane was flying below the altitude given by the tower and then, in a desperate attempt to save the plane and its passengers, they elevated the nose in a high position and put full power, but it was too late. The jetliner scraped a mountain peak, exploded, and slid down a ravine coming to rest at the foot of a mountain, killing all 119 people on board instantly. When radio contact was lost for nearly two minutes, the Cuenca ATC declared an emergency. The next day, search aircraft and rescue workers were sent to the plane's last known position. Because of the remote area and the difficult access where the crash occurred, it took rescue personnel several hours to reach the site itself. After they reached the crash site, the investigation began to find the causes of the crash of the TAME Boeing 737. The plane was a total loss and it was written-off.
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
-200 crash was an aviation incident in which a Boeing 737-200 Advanced, operated by the Ecuadorian national airline TAME
Tame
Tame may refer to:*Taming, the act of domesticating wild animals*River Tame, Greater Manchester*River Tame, West Midlands and the Tame Valley*Tame, Arauca, a Colombian town and municipality...
, which was making a domestic route from Mariscal Sucre International Airport
Mariscal Sucre International Airport
Mariscal Sucre International Airport is the international airport serving Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. It is named after Venezuelan born Antonio José de Sucre, known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" , a hero of Ecuadorian and Latin American independence...
to Mariscal Lamar Airport
Mariscal Lamar Airport
Mariscal Lamar International Airport is an airport serving Cuenca, a city in the province of Azuay in Ecuador.- Facilities :The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 05/23 with an asphalt surface measuring ....
, came down to a hill during final approach just one mile from its final destination, killing all 119 onboard including the flight crew. The crash was the first and deadliest crash in the history of the airline, and it remains as the deadliest plane crash of the history of Ecuadorian aviation. An investigation later determined that the flight crashed due to the flight crew's lack of experience on the aircraft type, which caused to enter into a controlled flight into terrain
Controlled flight into terrain
Controlled flight into terrain describes an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, water, or an obstacle. The term was coined by engineers at Boeing in the late 1970s...
.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
-2V2 Advanced, with the engine model JT8D-17 of the American engine manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
. When it was delivered by Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, it was originally registered as N8283V, but when it arrived in the TAME fleet in 1981, its registration and livery changed to HC-BIG. It was nicknamed by TAME as "Ciudad de Loja".
Crash
On July 11, 1983, the aircraft registered as HC-BIG, took off from Mariscal Sucre International AirportMariscal Sucre International Airport
Mariscal Sucre International Airport is the international airport serving Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. It is named after Venezuelan born Antonio José de Sucre, known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" , a hero of Ecuadorian and Latin American independence...
, in Quito, for a domestic flight to Mariscal Lamar Airport
Mariscal Lamar Airport
Mariscal Lamar International Airport is an airport serving Cuenca, a city in the province of Azuay in Ecuador.- Facilities :The airport resides at an elevation of above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 05/23 with an asphalt surface measuring ....
, in Cuenca, with 111 passengers and 8 crew members. Some minutes later, the crew experienced some bad weather conditions during the final approach to the airport, and they contacted to the Cuenca tower for permission to land the plane, which was granted. During the next few and final minutes of the flight, the pilots suffered from spatial disorientation, because they were preoccupied trying to find the runway in middle of a extensive fog, and did not understand some of the plane's controls. At around this time, the plane began to a controlled flight into terrain, towards a mountain.
Seconds later, and one mile from the airport, the crew realised that the plane was flying below the altitude given by the tower and then, in a desperate attempt to save the plane and its passengers, they elevated the nose in a high position and put full power, but it was too late. The jetliner scraped a mountain peak, exploded, and slid down a ravine coming to rest at the foot of a mountain, killing all 119 people on board instantly. When radio contact was lost for nearly two minutes, the Cuenca ATC declared an emergency. The next day, search aircraft and rescue workers were sent to the plane's last known position. Because of the remote area and the difficult access where the crash occurred, it took rescue personnel several hours to reach the site itself. After they reached the crash site, the investigation began to find the causes of the crash of the TAME Boeing 737. The plane was a total loss and it was written-off.
Investigation
An investigation was initiated by Ecuadorian authorities, with the support of Boeing, the NTSB, and Pratt & Whitney, which lasted for several months. The investigation concluded that the crash occurred due to human error and controversial factors: the pilot was unqualified and not trained properly by the company to fly the Boeing 737 Advanced, the crew was not very acquainted with the controls of the aircraft and when they were trying to find the runway in the middle of a fog, the crew experienced spatial disorientation and as a consequence, the plane entered into a CFIT in a mountainous region of Cuenca, just one mile of the runway and begun to fly below from the safest altitude level, without knowing of the pilots, until seconds from the crash.Aftermath
When the report of the accident was shown in Ecuador, it caused public outrage. Questions were asked as to how a unqualified pilot was flying the plane without the necessary experience. TAME's reputation was damaged by these conclusions of the investigation, but it recovered from the tragedy by reinforcing and adding strict standards in the pilot training process and continues to become one of the best South American airlines that flies with good safety record and only a few minor incidents.See also
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