Cubana de Aviación Flight 9046


Cubana de Aviación Flight 9046 was a chartered Ilyushin Il-62M airliner operated by Cubana, which crashed on 3 September 1989, shortly after takeoff from José Martí International Airport.
Flight 9046 was due to operate a non-scheduled international Havana–Milan–Cologne passenger service. The crash resulted in the deaths of all 126 occupants of the aircraft plus 24 people on the ground.

Accident

The aircraft took off in heavy rain and wind gusts of. The crew retracted the flaps from their initial 30° position to 15°, in an attempt to gain speed, but this action reduced the ability of the wing to provide lift. The aircraft climbed to about, where it was hit by a downdraft that caused the airframe to strike the end of the runway, subsequently hitting a navigational facility and a small hill before crashing into a residential area, about one minute after takeoff. All 126 people on board —115 passengers, most of them Italian holidaymakers, and a crew of 11— perished in the accident. An additional 24 people who were not aboard the aircraft and lived in the accident area also lost their lives as a result of the crash.

Cause

Investigators attributed the crash of Flight 9046 to the pilot's decision to fly after an abrupt deterioration in the meteorological conditions. The pilot underestimated the risks of taking off, and misjudged the aircraft's performance in poor weather.

Victims

Only one of the passengers, Luigi Capalbo, 22, of Parma, Italy, survived the crash initially. He fought for his life for 9 days but succumbed to his serious wounds on 12 September 1989.