Flight accident CU972 Cubana - 111 dead (107 passengers and 6 crew members)
On Friday, 18 May 2018, Boeing 737-200 XA-UHZ Global Air crashed immediately after takeoff near Havana Airport. There were 107 passengers and 6 crew members on board. Initially, the authorities reported 109 deceased, and 4 passengers were hospitalized in a serious condition at a hospital in the capital of Cuba.
Friday, 18 May 2018, will remain in the black history of aviation. 111 people lost their lives in a serious plane crash near the Havana airport.
The Boeing 737-200 XA-UHZ Global Air aircraft, which operated flight CU972 (Havana - Holguin) on behalf of Cubana de Aviación, crashed immediately after takeoff from Havana-José Martí International Airport (HAV / MUHA).
CU972 Cubana flight accident
On board were 107 passengers: 102 Cuban, 1 Mexican, 2 Argentine, 2 from Western Sahara. The 6 crew members were Mexican. A latest report shows 111 people dead and 2 people in serious condition at the hospital. Initially, the authorities recovered 4 survivors. But unfortunately, one person died shortly after from the injuries, and a second survivor died a few days later.
Boeing 737-200 took off at 12: 00. 8 minutes later and about 10 miles from the airport, the plane lost its cargo and crashed. An eyewitness said one of the engines was on fire at the time of the crash. Other witnesses said the plane fell on a high voltage line. Bearing in mind that the aircraft had fuel tanks, a violent fire broke out following the crash. The investigation is ongoing.
111 deceased (107 passengers and 6 crew members)
On 19 May, the Minister of Transport, Adel Yzquierdo, reported the recovery of the flight data recorder. He also stated that the voice recorder in the cockpit will also be recovered soon.
Also on 19 May, the Mexican authorities launched an investigation into Global Air, the airline that owned the aircraft. The activity of the company was suspended until the completion of the controls and the gathering of information to investigate the aviation accident in Havana.
More and more Cuban employees and former Global employees You are accusing the Mexican company of poor aircraft maintenance and breach of flight safety protocols. Incidents have been reported, involving the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority and the General Civil Aviation Directorate of Chile. In 2017, the Boeing 737-200 XA-UHZ was banned in the Guyanese airspace because of the crew, which overloaded the luggage and improperly stored them.
The National Transportation Safety Commission of the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing said they would be able to provide assistance in the investigation, if requested.
Days of national mourning in Cuba
President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Minister of Health Roberto Morales and other local authorities were on site to observe and monitor the rescue operation. The families and relatives of those on board also gathered on the spot to identify the deceased.
There were declared 2 days of national mourning, on the days of 19 more and 20 more, with flags flying in the crotch at government and military institutions.
This is the first major accident after the 2010 crash, when an ATR-type aircraft operating the 883 Aero Caribbean flight crashed in central Cuba. 68 people died as a result of the accident: 61 passengers and 7 crew members.
At the same time, this is the second worst accident in Cuba after the 1989 accident. Ilyushin Aircraft The 62M (CU-T1281) operates the 9646 Cuban Aviation flight. Following the accident, 150 people died (126 people were in the plane + 24 people on the ground).
On the plane, it's the Boeing 737-200 XA-UHZ Global Air. The aircraft was 38,9 years old. Operated the first flight on 15 July 1979. We do not put the accident on the account of the age, in aviation there are airplanes able to fly or not. According to official information, the aircraft had successfully undergone periodic inspection.