Incident Overview
Date: Wednesday 25 April 1951
Aircraft Type: Douglas DC-4
Owner/operator: Cubana de Aviaci¢n
Registration Number: CU-T188
Location: ca 1 km off Key West, FL –
ÿ United States of America
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 39 / Occupants: 39
Component Affected: Both aircraft ? DC-4 and SNB-1 KansanBoth aircraft ? DC-4 and SNB-1 Kansan
Investigating Agency: CABCAB
Category: Accident

A Cubana DC-4 aircraft collided with a US Navy Beech SNB-1 Kansan at a high altitude near Key West. The collision resulted in the SNB crashing into the water.A Cubana DC-4 aircraft collided with a US Navy Beech SNB-1 Kansan at a high altitude near Key West. The collision resulted in the SNB crashing into the water.
Description
The Cubana aircraft, on a flight from Miami to Havana, was in, or had just performed, a gentle left bank leveling out on the Havana heading of 197 degrees when it collided with a US Navy Beech SNB-1 Kansan (39939) at an altitude of 4000 feet. The Navy plane was on an instrument training flight out of Key West-NAS. The SNB crashed into the water just west of the Naval Station, but the DC-4 continued for some distance before commencing a left bank which became progressively steeper until the aircraft assumed a nose-down attitude, crashing into the ocean 1,7 miles from the point of the collision. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The failure of the crews of both aircraft to maintain sufficient vigilance under VFR conditions to prevent a collision.”
Primary Cause
Insufficient vigilance under VFR conditions by the crews of both aircraft to prevent a collision.Insufficient vigilance under VFR conditions by the crews of both aircraft to prevent a collision.Share on: