Incident Overview

Description
A Britten-Norman BN-2A-6 Islander, registration YV212T, departed Los Roques Airport (LRV) on an overwater flight to Caracas, Venezuela with ten persons on board. The en route part of the flight was uneventful. Caracas Approach Control cleared the flight to descend to 1500 feet. At 7 nautical miles (13 km) from the airport the pilot flew two circles before further clearance was received to descend to 1000 feet. At 5 nautical miles (9,3 km) from the airport the pilot flew another two circles at 1000 feet because the flight was number seven on approach to Caracas. While descending through 600 feet both engines suddenly quit. The pilot then decided to carry out a ditching about 4 km offshore from Caracas Airport. All ten aboard were rescued by the Coast Guard. Three passengers sustained minor injuries. Cause (translated from Spanish): Due to the circumstances in which the accident occurred, it is possible to conclude that the cause of the accident was sudden and sequential shutdown of both engines, by the total absence of fuel at the time of the accident. The lack of verification during the pre-flight check of the fuel required for the realization of the planned flights for the day of the accident, allows to establish the Human Factor as a causal factor of the accident.
Primary Cause
Sudden and sequential shutdown of both engines due to a lack of fuel verification during pre-flight checks.Sudden and sequential shutdown of both engines due to a lack of fuel verification during pre-flight checks.Share on: