5 aircraft accidents in Venezuela since 2000

The ATR-42-300 operated by Conviasa, took off from Porlamor, Venezuela for a passenger flight to Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. 47 passengers and 4 crew were onboard. The plane crashed while attempting an emergency landing. 17 people have been killed and 34 survived the accident (among which several were injured). While the plane was approaching its destination airport, at about 30 NM from the runway, the crew reported control problems and requested to land immediately to Puerto Ordaz airport. But the plane didn’t make the runway. Ground witnesses reported that the airplane entangled with a high voltage line before impacting ground. The plane impacted ground about 9 kilometres (5 NM) from the airport. Although the airplane fell into a crowded area, there have been no casualties and injuries on the ground. Onboard, the pilot and two of the other three crew members were among those killed.

The ATR 42-300 operated by local airline Santa Barbara took off in good weather from the high-altitude city of Merida, Venezuela, just before dusk bound to the capital of Caracas. It disappeared from radar a few minutes after take-off. The plane was carrying 43 passengers and three crewmembers. There is no survivor. Once the plane took off, the control tower received no further communication from the pilot. The plane crashed at an altitude 12,000 feet (3,700 meters) against a wall of rock. It was found completely wrecked, smashed against the face of one of the mountains. The twin-engine turboprop went down in a remote area 11 kilometers (seven miles) northeast of the airport in Merida, the main town in the Venezuelan Andes that each year attracts thousands of tourists from around the world. The pilot was experienced and had specialized training for flying through the Andes: the crews need special training to fly from Merida's airport because the city is so tightly hemmed in by mountains that planes must make steep ascents at takeoff. The high altitude of the airport (5007 feet or 1525 meters) makes it difficult as the plane’s performances are reduced. Visibility at dusk becomes so difficult planes are only allowed to take off during daylight. The ATR 42-300 involved in this accident was the day's last flight out.

The Let 410 belonging to Transaven took off from Caracas, capital of Venezuela, bound for Los Roques islands, a popular tourist spot 168 kilometers (104 miles) north of the Venezuelan capital. 14 people – 12 passengers and 2 crew members – were onboard. The plane disappeared from radar screens over the ocean. The pilot made a distress call reporting engines failure to the control tower in Los Roques islands. The plane at the time was about 38 kilometers (23 miles) from the island chain, and was flying at 3000 feet above the ocean. It was the last message received by the air traffic controllers. It is assumed the pilot tried ditching near the coral reefs surrounding Los Roques. But no signs were found of the wreckage or 14 people on board. Helicopters and boats crisscrossed an area spanning approximately 400 nautical square miles in search of the wreckage, which could have drifted far in strong currents. Transaven is a small turboprop operator which specialises in linking Caracas with tourist islands in the southern Caribbean region.

The aircraft was on a passenger flight from Panama City, Panama to Fort de France on the Caribbean Island of Martinique. The crew announced intentions to divert to Caracas. Then the aircraft began a rapid descent, and crashed into mountainous terrain some 20 miles from the Colombian border with Venezuela. According to the DFDR (Digital Flight Data Recorder) and CVR (Cockpit Voice recorder), the aircraft would have descended nose up. The crew was talking about weather conditions, and discussed possible icing conditions. The crew also thought about enabling wings and engines anti-ice devices. Analysis of the debris showed that both engines exhibited indications of high-speed compressor rotation at the time of impact, which enabled investigators to conclude that the engines were not previously damaged. The investigation shows that the cause of the crash is a combination of several human errors and bad weather conditions. The aircraft was overloaded by 6000 lb (about 2,5 tons), and weighted 155 000 lb at the beginning of cruise. Moreover, the weight was inadequately balanced. Therefore, the plane was more difficult to fly. Then, during cruise, the aircraft entered into a thunderstorm, with severe icing conditions. The engines iced, leading to a loss of thrust. Build-up of ice on wings may have also happened, which would have resulted in a decrease of the aircraft performance. The first officer immediately requested to engage the de-icing, but the captain did not take his request into account. Note that the first officer was inexperienced compare to the captain. Finally, the aircraft began to lose altitude. The crew then made a real mistake when they decided to switch off the auto-pilot. Indeed, the autopilot features a pitch correction function, which helps to fly the plane in this situation. Just after the auto-pilot disconnection, the MD82 stalled. It crashed 50 seconds later. Details about aircraft icing This kind of severe icing can occur when aircraft fly into particular weather conditions (for example, in a cloud of supercooled water droplets). Ice accretion on the wing leading edge may occur. Airflow disruption will reduce the maximum lift coefficient attainable by as much as 30% – 50%, thus raising the stalling speed considerably. And because the aircraft has to fly at a greater angle of attack to maintain lift, the induced drag also increases and the aircraft continues to lose airspeed, making it impossible to sustain altitude if the stall is to be avoided. The weight of the ice is also particularly constraining.Air data probes may also iced, which leads to misleading airspeed indications.Finally, the engine air intake may also be impacted by icing, leading to a loss of power and a possible engine overheating. An aircraft is usually designed to prevent and overcome the icing phenomenon. But in rare cases, the weather conditions are beyond the aircraft qualification conditions. In 1994, an ATR72 crashed near Chicago. Holding in ice for over an hour, the ice built up to the point that the aircraft became completely uncontrollable and spiralled to the ground.

The aircraft was on a passenger flight. During landing at Caracas' Simon Bolivar Airport, it skidded off the right side of the runway and impacted the airport fire house. Weather at the time of the accident was poor, with low ceiling and torrential rain reported.