Incident Overview

Date: Sunday 24 August 2008
Aircraft Type: Cessna 208 Caravan I
Owner/operator: A‚reo Ruta Maya
Registration Number: TG-JCS
Location: near La Puente, Caba¤as, Zacapa – ÿ Guatemala
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 11 / Occupants: 14
Component Affected: The airplane’s engine, specifically the compressor turbine blades and the gas generator.The airplane’s engine, specifically the compressor turbine blades and the gas generator.
Investigating Agency: SVIASVIA
Category: Accident
A Cessna 208 Caravan I, operated by A‚reo Ruta Maya, crashed near Caba¤as, Zacapa, Guatemala, resulting in the loss of fourteen lives. The aircraft took off from Guatemala City-La Aurora Airport (GUA) at 09:23, heading for El Estor. The pilot declared an emergency after 18 minutes, stating they were 38 miles from La Aurora, and the plane subsequently lost altitude and impacted terrain during a forced landing. A post-impact fire occurred.A Cessna 208 Caravan I, operated by A‚reo Ruta Maya, crashed near Caba¤as, Zacapa, Guatemala, resulting in the loss of fourteen lives. The aircraft took off from Guatemala City-La Aurora Airport (GUA) at 09:23, heading for El Estor. The pilot declared an emergency after 18 minutes, stating they were 38 miles from La Aurora, and the plane subsequently lost altitude and impacted terrain during a forced landing. A post-impact fire occurred.

Description

A Cessna 208 Caravan I operated by A‚reo Ruta Maya was destroyed in an accident near Caba¤as, Zacapa, Guatemala. Three of the fourteen occupants survived the accident. The airplane had taken off from Guatemala City-La Aurora Airport (GUA) at 09:23 and was heading for El Estor. Some 18 minutes into the flight the pilot declared an emergency, stating they were 38 miles from La Aurora. The airplane could not maintain altitude and impacted terrain during an attempted forced landing. A post impact fire broke out. PROBABLE CAUSE (translated from Spanish): The sudden engine failure during flight, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing, the aircraft impacting unsuitable terrain at a descent angle. The engine power loss was caused by the fracture of more than one compressor turbine blade, the impact of the blades in the inner parts general causing damage on the internal mechanism of the turbine station. The gas generator was rotating at low speed with the propeller feathered on the first impact with the ground. The high concentration of fire in the compressor section and in the combustion chamber, possibly indicate that several attempts were made on the engine to cause the compressor to continue working after losing the blades.

Primary Cause

Sudden engine failure during flight, leading to an emergency landing, and subsequent impact with unsuitable terrain.Sudden engine failure during flight, leading to an emergency landing, and subsequent impact with unsuitable terrain.

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