Aeroperú Flight 603
Destination | Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport Santiago, Chile |
---|---|
Occupants | 70 |
Passengers | 61 |
Crew | 9 |
Fatalities | 70 |
Survivors | 0
|
Accused | Eleuterio Chacaliaza, four others |
Convicted | Eleuterio Chacaliaza |
Charges | Negligent homicide |
Verdict |
|
Sentence | Chacaliaza: 2-year suspended sentence |
Aeroperú Flight 603 (PL603/PLI603) was a scheduled passenger flight from Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, to Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago, Chile, with stopovers in Quito, Ecuador, and Lima, Peru. On October 2, 1996, the Boeing 757-23A aircraft flying the final leg of the flight crashed, killing all 70 people aboard.
Flying over water, at night, with no visual references, the pilots were unaware of their true altitude, and struggled to control and navigate the aircraft. The investigation determined that the
Overview
Aircraft
The aircraft, a
Crew
The captain was 58-year-old Eric Schreiber Ladrón de Guevara, who had logged almost 22,000 flight hours (including 1,520 hours on the Boeing 757).[1] The first officer was 42-year-old David Fernández Revoredo, who had logged almost 8,000 flight hours, with 719 of them on the Boeing 757.[1]: 4–7
Accident
On October 1, 1996, Aeroperú Flight 603 from Miami International Airport had landed at the Lima Airport. There were 180 passengers on the first leg of the flight on a Boeing 757. Of those, 119 had exited the plane, and the remaining passengers were transferred to another Boeing 757.[citation needed]
This aircraft took off 42 minutes after midnight (05:42 UTC) on October 2,
The pilots incorrectly believed that they could figure out the actual aircraft altitude by asking the controller, but neither the pilots nor the controller realized that the altitude information displayed on the controller's screen was sent from the aircraft's Mode C Transponder. As the transponder was receiving the same erroneous altitude information being displayed on the aircraft's altimeter, the altitude on the controller's display was also incorrect.[4]
Faced with a lack of reliable basic flight instrument readings, constant contradictory warnings from the aircraft's flight computer (some of which were valid and some of which were not) and believing that they were at a safe altitude,
The air traffic controller instructed a Boeing 707 to take off and to help guide the 757 in to land, but it was too late. The 757's left wingtip clipped the water approximately 25 minutes after the emergency declaration, tearing off several feet of the left wing. The pilots desperately clawed for altitude and managed to get the 757 airborne again for 22 seconds, but due to the damage to the left wing the aircraft rolled over and slammed into the water inverted.[5] All 70 passengers and crew died.[1][6][7]
Passengers
About half of the passengers on the flight were Chileans returning to Chile.[4][8][9]
Nation | Number |
---|---|
Chile | 30 |
Colombia | 1 |
Ecuador | 2 |
Italy | 2 |
Mexico | 6 |
New Zealand | 1 |
Peru[a] | 20 |
Spain | 1 |
United Kingdom | 2 |
United States | 4 |
Venezuela | 1 |
Total | 70 |
Of the passengers, 21 originated from Miami; all of the originating passengers were Chilean. An additional 10 passengers had boarded in Quito. The remaining passengers had boarded in Lima.[10]
Aftermath
After the accident, Aeroperú changed the number of its evening Miami-Lima-Santiago Boeing 757 service to Flight 691.[11]
Search, rescue, and recovery
After the crash, recovery crews found nine bodies floating, but 61 bodies had sunk with the aircraft.[4]
Investigation
The
The chief Peruvian accident investigator, Guido Fernández Lañas, was the uncle of the co-pilot, David Fernández. There were some reservations about the potential conflict of interest, but the National Transportation Safety Board-appointed investigator, Richard Rodriguez, determined that Fernández Lañas could properly investigate the accident.[4]
The
Later investigation into the accident revealed that adhesive tape had been accidentally left over some or all of the
The static ports are vital to the operation of virtually all of those flight instruments that provide basic aerodynamic data such as airspeed, altitude and vertical speed, not only to the pilots but also to the aircraft's computers, which provide additional functions, such as warnings when flight characteristics approach dangerous levels. The blockage of all of the static ports is one of the few common-failure modes resulting in total failure of multiple basic flight instruments and as such is regarded as one of the most serious faults that can occur within the avionics systems.[14]
The design of the aircraft did not incorporate a system of maintenance covers for the static ports. Such covers are commonly employed in aviation for blocking access to critical components when the aircraft is not in operation and are generally a bright color and carry flags (which may have "remove before flight" markings). Instead, the design of the aircraft and the relevant maintenance procedure called for the use of adhesive tape to cover the ports.[14]
As a result of the blocked static ports, the basic flight instruments relayed false airspeed, altitude and vertical speed data. Because the failure was not in any of the instruments, but rather in a common supporting system, thereby defeating redundancy, the erroneous altimeter data was also broadcast to
Legal settlement
Mike Eidson, an American attorney, represented 41 passengers and crew in a lawsuit contending that the aircraft's manufacturer, Boeing, bore responsibility for the disaster, as the company ought to have foreseen the misuse of its products.
On December 13, 1999, family members of the flight's passengers received one of the largest compensations stemming from an aviation accident outside the United States aboard a non-U.S. carrier, averaging nearly $1 million per victim.[4] Mayday stated that the manner of the crash resulting in the passengers' drowning was responsible for the large settlements.[4]
Criminal prosecution
Chacaliaza was convicted in Peru for negligent homicide and given a two-year suspended sentence in 1998.[17] Four other defendants were acquitted. Chacaliaza said he would appeal the ruling, claiming that sabotage brought down the plane and that he had removed the adhesive tape.[18]
Peruvian air accident investigator Guido Fernández criticized the ruling, stating that the maintenance worker was relatively uneducated and had little understanding of what he did. Fernández argued that his supervisors bore more responsibility, yet Chacaliaza was the one prosecuted by the system.[4]
In popular culture
- The events of Flight 603 were featured in "Flying Blind", a Season 1 (2003) episode of the Canadian TV series Mayday, also known as Air Disasters.[19] The flight was also included in a Mayday Season 6 (2007) Science of Disaster special titled "Who's Flying the Plane?".[20]
- In 1999, the cockpit voice recording (CVR) of the incident was incorporated into the script of the play Charlie Victor Romeo produced by the Collective:Unconscious theater company in New York. In 2013 a film version of the play was released.[21]
See also
- Pitot-static system
Similar events
- Air India Flight 855
- Birgenair Flight 301, which also took place in 1996 and also involved a 757-200, with similar circumstances
- Air France Flight 447
- Adam Air Flight 574
- Lion Air Flight 610
- Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501
- West Air Sweden Flight 294
- Turkish Airlines Flight 5904
Notes
- ^ 11 passengers and 9 crew
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "ACCIDENT OF THE BOEING 757-200 AIRCRAFT OPERATED BY EMPRESA DE TRANSPORTE AÉREO DEL PERÚ S.A. AEROPERÚ" (PDF). Accident Investigation Board, Directorate General of Air Transport, Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-12-02. Retrieved 2018-12-29 – via SKYbrary.
- ^ "N52AW Aeroperú Boeing 757-200". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ^ "AeroPeru N52AW (Boeing 757 - MSN 25489) (Ex XA-SKR XA-SME)". www.airfleets.net. Airfleets aviation. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Flying Blind", Mayday [documentary TV series] - Posted on the official verified YouTube channel of Wonder Documentaries, a part of Little Dot Studios Network, a subsidiary of All3Media. At 3:04 the narrator states "Most [passengers] are Chileans on their way home." The portion where Richard Rodriguez speaks of how he accepted Guido Fernandez's participation is at 33:20/51:42. The part where Rodriguez discusses his view on how Schrieber missed the tape is at 45:28/51:42. Eidson speaks about the manner of death at 49:09/51:42 (the Mayday narrator stating that the manner of death caused the large settlement was around 48:30). The part where Fernandez discusses his view of the maintenance worker's culpability is at 46:10/51:42. Rodriguez, Guido Fernandez, and Eidson are shown directly speaking in the documentary.
- ^ "r/CatastrophicFailure - Aeroperu 603 CVR Recording from 1996, in which a 757's flight computers are deprived of critical information and fail over the ocean at night, resulting in 70 deaths 30 minutes later". 18 February 2017. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
- ^ "Case Study: Aero Peru 603". code7700.com. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ^ "Searchers comb Pacific for more bodies after Peruvian crash". CNN. October 2, 1996. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
There were 30 Chileans,[...]
- ^ "Murieron 70 personas en un avión peruano que cayó al mar" [70 people died in a Peruvian plane that fell into the sea]. Clarín Digital (in Spanish). October 3, 1996. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
Integraban la lista 30 chilenos,[...]
- ^ "CRONICA" [CHRONICLE]. Consorcio Periodístico de Chile S.A. (in Spanish). 2 October 1996. Archived from the original on 13 May 2001. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^ Volando (Aeroperú's inflight magazine), Issue 17, July–August 1997
- .
Robles, Ricardo, Presidente, Commission of Accident Investigations (CAII), Director General of Air Transport (DGAT) of Peru. 1996. Final report, Boeing 757-200 Accident, Aeroperu, 2 October 1996. Lima, Peru.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^ ISBN 9780963617866.
- ^ "Close-Up: Aeroperu 603 Voice Recorder Transcription (English Translation)". avweb.com. 28 April 1997. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ a b "Aeroperu Crash Victims Win Landmark Award". Colson Hicks Eidson. Law Firm Colson Hicks Eidson Attorneys. December 13, 1999. Archived from the original on 2020-02-05. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
- ^ "DEUDOS DEL ACCIDENTE AEROPERU PIDEN MAYOR REPARACION CIVIL" [DEBT OF THE AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REQUEST GREATER CIVIL REPAIR]. cdn.preterhuman.net (in Spanish). 1998-08-11. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- ^ "AEROPERÚ INDEMNIZA VÍCTIMAS DE ACCIDENTE" [AIRPORT INDEMNIFIES VICTIMS OF ACCIDENT]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). 1998-01-22. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
- National Geographic Channel.
- National Geographic Channel.
- ^ "Step inside the cockpit of six real-life air disasters". New York Post. January 26, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
External links
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- Final Report (unofficial English translation) (Archive Alternative of archive) hosted at SKYbrary
- Original report, in Ministry of Transportation and Communications
- "In reply refer to: A-96-141." National Transportation Safety Board. November 15, 1996. (Archive)
- AvWeb - AeroPeru 603 Cockpit Voice Recorder transcript (English) (Archive)
- AvWeb - AeroPeru 603 Cockpit Voice Recorder transcript (Spanish) (Archive)
- AeroPeru 603 Cockpit Voice Recorder Original Audio Parte 1 on YouTube
- AeroPeru 603 Cockpit Voice Recorder Original Audio Parte 2 on YouTube
- AeroPeru 603 Cockpit Voice Recorder Original Audio Parte 3 on YouTube
- "Computer failure puzzling in Peruvian crash." CNN. October 3, 1996.
- "Searchers comb Pacific for more bodies after Peruvian crash," CNN. October 2, 1996. (Archive)
- List of passengers (Archive Alternative of archive)
- News and Comment on the Aeroperu B757 Accident - University of Bielefeld