Aerosucre Flight 4544

Aerosucre Fight 4544

The aircraft involved in the accident while still in operation with Air Jamaica
Accident summary
Date	20 December 2016
Summary	Pilot error, runway overrun
Site	Germán Olano Airport, Puerto Carreño, Colombia
Passengers	0
Crew	6
Fatalities	5
Survivors	1
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-2J0F
Operator	Aerosucre
Registration	HK-4544
Flight origin	Germán Olano Airport, Puerto Carreño, Colombia
Destination	El Dorado International Airport, Bogotá, Colombia

PCR

BOG

A map showing the locations of the Puerto Carreño airport (PCR) which is also the location of the crash site, and Bogotá's El Dorado International Airport (BOG).

Aerosucre Flight 4544 (6N4544/KRE4544) was a domestic cargo flight operated by Colombian cargo airliner Aerosucre using a Boeing 727-200 (registration HK-4544) on 20 December 2016. The aircraft had trouble taking off and touched the fence at the end of the runway. After becoming airborne from Germán Olano Airport Puerto Carreño, Colombia it remained at very low altitude and crashed shortly afterwards. The flight was planned to go en route to El Dorado International Airport, in Bogotá, Colombia.^[1] It was reported that four members of the six-person crew died on the scene while two were rescued alive; one subsequently died of their injuries.^[2][3][4]

The crash of Aerosucre Flight 4544 was the second aviation incident involving Aerosucre, the first being the crash of another Boeing 727 on 18 November 2006.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved in the crash was a Boeing 727-200 registered HK-4544 with serial number 21105. It entered service in 1975, operating as a passenger aircraft for Air Jamaica until 1997. It was then converted into a cargo aircraft.^[5] The aircraft began operating for Aerosucre in 2008.^[6]

Incident

The Aerosucre Boeing 727 cargo plane arrived on December 20, 2016 at Puerto Carreño at 14:48 hours local time after a cargo flight from Bogotá. The crew unloaded 20,423 pounds of cargo and, presumably, almost 20,000 pounds of new cargo was loaded for the return to Bogotá. The 727 then taxied onto Runway 25 threshold, crew set flaps at 30 degrees, the plane was trimmed for takeoff, and the plane started its takeoff run at 17:18 hours.

The 727 used all of the 1800-metre runway, but was still not airborne. It travelled another 95 meters over grass and struck a perimeter fence. It then crossed a road, hit a shed and a tree before finally becoming airborne. Due to the impact, the right main landing gear detached from the aircraft, the inboard right flap was damaged, engine 3 lost power and one hydraulic system was damaged to leaking. The aircraft achieved an altitude of 790 feet, entered a slight right hand descending turn and then impacted flat terrain, bursting into flames.

The weight and balance manifest of the accident flight was nowhere to be found. The flight plan indicated five people aboard, but there was a sixth person on the flight as four died immediately and two survived the impact but one of the two died later from injuries.^[7]

References