LANSA Flight 502

Infobox Airliner accident
Name=LANSA Flight 502
Crash

Image caption=Passengers boarding LANSA Flight 502
Date=August 9, 1970
Type=Pilot error
Site=Cusco
Fatalities=101 (2 on ground)
Injuries=1
Origin=Cusco
Destination=Lima
Aircraft Type=Lockheed Electra L-188A
Operator=LANSA
Tail Number=OB-R-939
Passengers=92
Crew=8
Survivors=1|

LANSA Flight 502 was a Lockheed Electra L-188A four-engine turboprop operated by Lineas Aéreas Nacionales Sociedad Anónima (LANSA) which crashed shortly after takeoff on August 9, 1970, after losing one of its engines. [cite web|url=http://www.senate.gov/~schumer/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/record_print.cfm?id=261952|title=Senator Schumer's Press Release, August 22, 2006] The aircraft, registered OB-R-939, was bound from Cusco to Lima in Peru, carrying 8 crew and 92 passengers. [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19700809-0 Accident Record on aviation-safety.net] ] All but one of the occupants died from injuries sustained from impact forces and post crash fire. Two people on the ground were also killed. There were 46 American high school exchange students on board, all of whom perished. [http://www.august91970.com/ Accident Web Site] ] A Peruvian government investigations concluded that the accident was caused by improper execution of engine-out procedures by the flight crew, aggravated by lack of maintenance and overloading. LANSA was fined and its operations suspended for 90 days. At the time, the crash was the worst ever in Peruvian history.

Background

Over half of the passengers belonged to a single group, sponsored by the Buffalo, New York based International Fellowship Student Exchange Program, consisting of 46 American high school exchange students, along with their teachers and guides, who were returning from a visit to nearby Machu Picchu to their host families in the Lima area. The daughter of the mayor of Lima was also accompanying the group. [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nytimes/78160019.html?did=78160019&FMT=ABS&FMTS=AI&date=Aug+10%2C+1970&author=By+H.J.+MAIDENBERG+Special+to+The+New+York+Times&pub=New+York+Times++(1857&desc=99+ON+AIRLINER+DIE+IN+CRASH+IN+PERU%3B+54+ARE+FROM+U.S. "99 on airliner die in crash in Peru; 54 are from U.S.", New York Times, Aug. 10, 1970] ] The Peruvian passengers included a couple on their honeymoon. [http://www.itnsource.com/Search/Shotlist/?Ref=/RTV/1970/08/15/BGY507270168.htm "PERU: 99 PEOPLE KILLED IN AIR CRASH", ITN Source Article, Autgust 15, 1970] ]

August 9, 1970 was a Sunday, and Flight 502 from Cuzco to Lima, operated by LANSA, the national Peruvian airline, was originally scheduled to depart Cuzco at 8:30 AM in the morning, [cite web|url=http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/il2.htm|title=1968 LANSA Flight Timetable] [Note that LANSA 1968 flight timetable shows 10:15AM as 'daily' departure time of Flight 502 from Cuzco to Lima.] but since many of the members of the American group wanted to visit the nearby Pisac native handicraft market prior to leaving for Lima, the airline postponed the departure time to 2:45 PM. [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nytimes/90616568.html?did=90616568&FMT=ABS&FMTS=AI&date=Aug+13%2C+1970&author=&pub=New+York+Times++(1857-Current+file)&desc=PERU+PANEL+STUDIES+CRASH+FATAL+TO+99 "Peru Panel Studies Crash Fatal to 99", New York Times, Aug. 12, 1970] ]

The Quispiquilla Airport, since renamed to Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport, [http://www.fallingrain.com/apts/4325.html Cuzco Airport Record on Falling Rain Site] ] is located about 3 miles east-southeast of the city of Cuzco, in a small valley high on the Andes mountains, at an altitude of 10,860 feet above mean sea level. [ [http://gc.kls2.com/airport/CUZ Great Circle Airport: CUZ] ] Higher mountainous terrain surrounds the single east-west runway airport in all directions. [http://earth.google.com/index.html Google Earth (Cuzco, Peru and Cuzco Airport)] ] Since it was August, it was winter time in Peru, as in the rest of the southern hemisphere.

Accident sequence

At about 2:55 PM, the four-engine Lockheed Electra L-188A turboprop began its takeoff run to the west. At some point during the takeoff run or initial climb, the number three engine [Number three engine is inboard, right side.] failed and caught fire. The crew continued the takeoff and climb, per standard procedure, using power from the remaining three engines. The pilot radioed the control tower declaring an emergency, and the control tower cleared the flight for an immediate landing. The number three engine was engulfed in flames as the crew retracted the flaps and maneuvered the plane into a left turn back to the runway. The plane entered a 30-45 degree bank, then rapidly lost altitude and crashed into hilly terrain about 1.5 miles west-southwest of the runway, above the village of San Gerónimo. [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record_map.php?id=19700809-0 Google Satellite Map Showing Crash Site and Runway] ] All aboard perished except the copilot, who was badly burned but survived. Two farmers were killed on the ground.

Investigation

The Peruvian government investigated the accident, and in its final report concluded that the probable cause of the accident was the improper execution of engine-out procedures by the flight crew, with contributing factors of improper loading of the aircraft and improper maintenance procedures by company personnel. There was also evidence of a coverup and falsification of critical maintenance records by LANSA employees during the investigation process. The Peruvian government subsequently fined LANSA and some of its employees, and suspended the airline's operating license for 90 days as a consequence.

ee also

*LANSA Flight 508
*List of notable accidents and incidents on commercial aircraft

References

External links

* [http://www.qosqo.com/maps/map22.htm Cusco Airport Satellite Photo]
*The Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport is at coordinates coord|13|32|8|S|71|56|37|W|type:airport
* [http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=08091970&reg=OB-R939&airline=Lineas+Aereas+Nacionales Air Disaster Accident Record]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060105162526/http://www.august91970.com/ archive.org record of accident web site]