Unclassified National Transportation Safety
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1. Re ort No. 2.Government Accession No. 3.Recipient's Catalog No. NT S [-MI<- 7 5- 17 I 4. Title and Subtitle 5.Report Date Aircraft Accident Report - Puerto Kico International December 17, 1975 Airlines (Pririair), Inc. DeHavilland DH-114, N554PR, '- 6 . Performi ng Organ i zat i on Ponce, Puerto Kico, June 24, 1972 Code 7. Author(s) 8.Performing Organization Report No. 9. Performing Organization Name and Address I 10.Work*r.nn Unit . No. IUUL-H National Transportation Safety Board Bureau of Aviation Safety 11 .Contract or Grant No. Washington, I). C. 20594 13.Type of Report and Period Covered 12.Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Aircraft Accident Report .June 24, 1972 NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD Washington, D. C. 20594 14.Sponsoring Agency Code I 15.Supplementary Notes 16 .Abstract About 2317 e.s.t., on June 24, 1972, Puerto Rico International Airlines, Inc., Flight 191, a Delfavilland DH-114 Heron, (N554PK), crashed on the Mercedita Airport, Ponce, Puerto Rico. The crew was executing a go-around after rejecting a landing on runway 29. The captain, the copilot, and 3 of the 18 passengers were killed. Seven passengers were injured seriously, and eight were injured slightly; the aircraft was destroyed. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the loss of directional control during a go-around from a landing attempt. Control was lost when the aircraft was overrotated at too low an airspeed to sustain flight. The crew's reasons for rejecting the landing are not known. 17.Key Words Overrotat i on, attempted go-around, landing accident Identifier: Dcllavill and DH-114 Accident 19.Security Classification 20.Security Classification 21.No. of Pages 22.Price (of this report) (of this page) UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED NTSB Form 1765.2 (Rev. 9/74) FORE WO R I ) On Ikcernber 20, L972, the Nat-iona~lTransportation Sat ety hart1 issued Report No. N l3-AAK-72-34, which contained tlie facts, circumst;incc:s, ;ind ccmclusioris that were known at that time c.oricerning tlie acci drtnt dc)scribed Lic3re in. 'rile pro1)able cause containcis i ti tliat report was: "'['lie N;it ioiial 'I'ransportation Safety I5o;irtl deterniined tliat the probnb IC' C~IISC' of tlie accident was the presence of' ;in unauthorized vehicle on thcl riinwcly which causetl the piLot to attempt ;I go-;iround atter touchdown to ;1voit1 ;i collision. 'I'liis m;iIic'tivcr rt.s[iltcatl i~i;in ovc~rrotation of t1ie aircraft at too low mi airspeed to siista.in Cliglit. I' On .Juric. 9, 1975, tlic Puerto Rice Ports Authority petitioned the Sal cty 13oard in <iccordance with the Board's Procedural RrgiiL,it ion Part 8 31. 36 to reconsider the prob,il)le cause. 'L'1ir.y ob jccted to tlie probcib It' cmse becCiiise the ,iccideiit report strongly suggcstcid th,it ,I Puerto Rico Ports Authority vehicle w'is the "iinciiitliorized veli icle" on tlie runw,iy. ln additiort to the petition for recons itlt)ration, the l'orts Authority subniittc)tl more than 25 depositions, sworn statements, or s igiietl statements, wliicli tliey c Lnimed proved conclusively that ttic3ir vehicle w<is not on the runway at the time of the <iccident. The attachment to the petition containc~dseveral statements 1 roni persons who tiad not lieen interviciwed by lhartl personnel during tlie original investigation. Tliesc statements siipportc,d tlie claim of tlic I'or'ts Authority employee that hrl was riot on the riinw,iy in ;I Ports Authority vctiicle at tlie time of the <iccident. In fact, his claim tli,it licl was not c'vt~iat the <iirport when the accidc>rit occurred W'IS sworn to by sc'vera I pc>rsnns. '1'r.stimoriy Lrom persons also plact,d tlie vc,hicle in qiitst ion in its usual piirking place at the time of the accident. As ;1 result of the petition, the S,ifety 130cird reopened the citieii t invest igat i on 'I'he reinvc.s t iga t ion cons isted prim'ir i Ly f taking sworn tt)stimony Lroui number of witnesses riot previously intervicwcltl by I3oartl invcxstigators, <is well as interviewing several persons who liacl becn prcbvioiisly interv iewetl. Additionally, tlic 13o,ird also corisiclered I'rinair's written upposition to tlic Ports Aiithority's pc.t i t ion, .inti tlic Ports Authority's reply to the Pririair's Letter of opposition. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Synopsis ................... 1 1 . Investigation ................ 1 1.1 History of the Flight ............ 1 1.2 Injuries to Persons ............. 3 1.3 Damage to Aircraft .............. 3 1.4 Other Damage ................. 3 1.5 Crew Information ............... 3 1.6 Aircraft Information ............. 3 1.7 Meteorological Information .......... 3 1.8 Aids to Navigation ............... 3 1.9 Communications ................ 3 1.10 Aerodrome and Ground Facilities ....... 3 1.11 Flight Recorders ............... 4 1.12 Wreckage .................. 4 1.13 Medical and Pathological Information ..... 4 1.14 Fire .................... 5 1.15 Survival Aspects ............... 5 1.16 Tests and Research .............. 5 1.17 Other Information .............. 5 1.17.1 Investigation of Location of Ports Authority Truck and Ports Authority Employee .... 1.17.2 Lights on the Runway ............. 2 . Analysis and Conclusions ........... 2.1 Analysis .................. 2.2 Conclusions ................. (a) Findings ................ (11) Probable Cause ............. Appendixes Appendix A .Investigation and Hearing .... 11 Appendix B .Crew Jnformation ........ 12 Appendix C .Aircraft Information ...... 13 iii File No. 3-4107 NAT T ONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 20594 ALRCKAFT ACCIDENT REPORT Adopted: December 17, 1975 PUEK1’0 RICO INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES, INC. DeHAVILLAND DII-114, N554PR PONCE, PUERTO RICO JUNE 24, 1972 SYNOPSIS About 2317 e.s.t., on June 24, 1972, Puerto Rico International Airlines, Inc., Flight 191, a DeHavilland DH-114 Heron, (N554PR), crashed on the Mercedita Airport, Ponce, Puerto Rico. The crew was executing a go-around after rejecting a landing on runway 29. The captain, the copilot, and 3 of the 18 passengers were killed. Seven passengers were injured seriously, and eight were injured slightly; the aircraft was destroyed. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the loss of directional control during a go-around from a landing attempt. Control was lost when the aircraft was overrotated at too low an airspeed to sustain flight. The crew’s reasons for rejecting the landing are not known. 1- ______~INVESTIGATION 1.1 History of the Flixht On June 24, 1972, Puerto Rico International Airlines (Prinair), Inc., Flight 191, a DeHavilland DH-114 (N554PR) operated as a scheduled passenger flight froin San Juan, I’uerto Rico, to Ponce, Puerto Rico. -2- The flight departed San .Juan at 2252 witli 20 persons, including 2 crewmenibcrs, aboard. It was cleared to Ponce in accordance with a stored instrument flight r les (IFK) flight plan. ‘fie assigned en route altitude was 5,000 ft. -LY The: flight was uneventful during takeoff, climb, and cruise. At 2255, Flight 191 advised that they were 15 iiiiles edst- northe,ist o,f the airport <ind requested the existing wind condi t ions. ‘I’liey were advised by ‘I departing flight that the wind was calm. Sincta the Mercedita Airport Control Tower dt Ponce was closed froin 2230 until 0645, it wcis Prinalr’s pr-ocedurcx for ,111 flights to monitor the tower frc,quency and to ciss ist one another iri reporting weather conditions, .ind LO help witli separ,itioii of traffic. At 2301, S;ni Jutin Air Traffic Control Center cleared Flight 191 Eor the approacli to the Mercedita Airport, ;ind at 2304, Flight 191 cancelled its IVK f light plan. ‘l’liis was the> last conversation between Flight 191 and the Sari Juan Air Traff.i(. Control (:enter. A few niinritcs lcitcr, the captain of a tleparting flight heard Flight 191 transmit tliat tliey were 011 1cf.l: bnsc leg f or lariding on riinway 29 - A number of witnessc.5 who wt’rc, located on or necir the airport saw tlie ciircratt as i t ‘ipproached for landing on runway 29. ‘They noted nothing uriusucil cibout the approacli ‘1s the aircr<iLt descended wit11 laiidiiig lights on. Witnesses differed ‘1s to wliethcar thc. ‘iircraft actu‘illy touclied down 011 the riinw,iy. Four 01 the aircraft’s passengers stated tIi<it the aircraft tl id not touch down, while three passengers believed the ‘iircrait did toucli down. l)espite tlic~scclif ferenccs , most witiiesses agreed that almost inmediately tlic!reattc>r the aircraft assumed n steep climbing citt.itude. ‘i’lie sound of high engint. power was lieilrd concurrently with tliis maneuver. Soriw 01- the> witnesscss saw or feLt thc aircraft roc.k from side to side ;md tlien settle to tlie ground in a near-level attitude. ‘J’lie ,iircr,itt (.rastied about 2 ,200 feet beyond the runway thrcshol d aid ZhO feet south of runwciy 29. tt came to rest 74 Eeet southwest of tlie initial impacL .ifttr knocking down several sections of chiin 1 ink rerice aiid strikinfi <I powerline pole on the perimeter o€ tlie .iirport. ‘Clie accitlerit occurred during tlie hours of darkness. -~~~~~ ~ . ~ ~- ~~ ____ I/ All times licrcyin arc eastern standard, based on the 24-hour clock. :rl All a1 ti tildes herein are mean sea level unless otherwise indicated. 1.2 -Inxies - to Persons Lnj uries __-Crew Passengers Other Fatal 2 3 0 Nonfatal 0 15 0 None 0 0 1.3 Damage to Aircraft- The aircraft was destroyed. 1.4 Other Damage A powerline pole and several sections of chain link fence were destroyed. 1.5 Crew lnformation_____ The two crewmembers were properly certificated for the flight.