Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108

Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108
Accident summary
An Aeropostal McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 similar to the one involved.
Date	March 5, 1991
Summary	Pilot error
Site	near La Valesa, Venezuela
Passengers	40
Crew	5
Injuries (non-fatal)	0
Fatalities	45 (all)
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32
Operator	Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela
Flight origin	La Chinita International Airport, Maracaibo, Venezuela
Destination	Santa Barbara Ed-L Delicias Airport, Venezuela

Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108 took off from La Chinita International Airport in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on March 5, 1991, on a short-haul flight to Santa Barbara Ed-L Delicias Airport in Venezuela with 45 passengers and crew. Some minutes later the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 crashed on the side of a foggy mountain near La Valesa in the La Aguada sector of the Páramo Los Torres and burst into flames. All 45 people on board died.

Cause

A investigation into the accident found that the cause of the crash was pilot error. The pilots inadvertently entered the wrong radial into their navigation system and went off course. Because of the fog the pilots did not know they were on a collision course with the mountain.

References

Aviation Safety Network

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Aviation accidents and incidents in 1991 (1991)
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Feb 1 USAir Flight 1493
Mar 3 United Airlines Flight 585
Mar 5 Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 108
Mar 26 Singapore Airlines Flight 117
Apr 5 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311
May 26 Lauda Air Flight 004
Jul 10 L'Express Airlines Flight 508
Jul 11 Nigeria Airways Flight 2120
Aug 16 Indian Airlines Flight 257
Sep 11 Continental Express Flight 2574
Oct 5 Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Ovt 25 Bill Graham helicopter crash
Nov 20 Azerbaijani helicopter shootdown
Dec 27 Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751
Dec 29 China Airlines Flight 358

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