Avianca Flight 011


A: The first segment was cancelled for this flight.

Avianca Flight 011, registration HK-2910X, was a Boeing 747-200B on an international scheduled passenger flight from Frankfurt via Paris, Madrid, and Caracas to Bogotá, Colombia that crashed on 27 November 1983. It took off from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris at 22:25 on 26 November 1983 for Madrid Barajas Airport; take-off was delayed waiting for additional passengers from a Lufthansa flight due to a cancellation of the Paris-Frankfurt-Paris segment by Avianca for operational reasons.
During the instrument landing system approach to runway 33, the 747 crashed on a hill approximately 7.5 miles south east of the airport, killing 181 people, including 19 on-duty and four off-duty crew members. The 11 surviving passengers were seriously injured. The cause of the accident was judged to be pilot error, the captain having incorrectly determined the position of the plane. As of 2020, Avianca Flight 011 remains the second-deadliest aviation accident in Spanish territory behind the Tenerife airport disaster, and the worst accident in the history of Avianca.

Accident

It was nighttime at the time of the accident, the meteorological conditions just before the crash consisted of a visibility of 5 miles, and the wind was calm. About 20 minutes prior to the impact, the aircraft had obtained meteorological information on the weather conditions at Barajas from Avianca. The first contact with Spanish air traffic controllers had taken place at 23:31. At 00:03 the aircraft contacted Barajas again, and was cleared to land on runway 33; this was the air traffic controller's last contact with the aircraft. The accident took place in the township of Mejorada del Campo, approximately 7.5 miles southeast of the Madrid Airport. The time of the accident was approximately 00:06 on 27 November. The plane hit three different hills on its way down during the crash, with the third hill being the final impact. The debris of the airplane was widely scattered as a consequence of the impacts. The crash killed 158 passengers, 19 crew members, and four off-duty crew members. 11 were seriously injured. Of the injured, nine were ejected from the airplane, a few of them still in their seats, and two claimed to have exited the aircraft by themselves. The aircraft was completely destroyed by the impact and ensuing fire. The airplane was equipped with a digital flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder, both of which were recovered on the day of the accident in good condition.

Investigation

The crash was investigated by the Spanish Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission.
There was no evidence of any anomalies in Paris prior to this flight. The crew had stayed in the city 72 hours after arriving on flight AVO10 on the first day, 24 November 1983. The investigation also determined that the pilot-in-command and crew were properly licensed and qualified, as were the air traffic controllers. The aircraft carried a valid certificate of airworthiness, as well as a registration and maintenance certificate. The airplane was maintained in accordance with the prescribed maintenance program, and the navigation and approach aids were checked and found to be functioning correctly. In addition, there was no record of malfunctions in the controllers communications or radar equipment, and no evidence was discovered of defects in the aircraft engines or systems.

Flight Number

As of 2019, Avianca still operates Flight 011, a daily non-stop flight from Madrid to Bogota, using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Notable people killed