ASN Aircraft accident Curtiss C-46A Commando HK-354X Kingston
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Monday 26 November 1962
Time:08:50 UTC
Type:Silhouette image of generic C46 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Curtiss C-46A Commando
Operator:Lineas Aéreas La Urraca
Registration: HK-354X
MSN: 30379
First flight: 1944
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney R-2800-51
Crew:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Passengers:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Total:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
Location:Kingston (   Jamaica)
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature:Ferry/positioning
Departure airport:Kingston Airport (KIN/MKJP), Jamaica
Destination airport:Bogotá-Eldorado Airport (BOG/SKBO), Colombia
Narrative:
The Curtiss C-46 operated on a ferry flight from Fairbanks to Bogotá via Miami and Kingston, carrying four spare engines and spare parts. The plane arrived at Kingston on November 25, 17:01 GMT. Following refueling of the aircraft, fuel was observed venting from the right front tank. This caused a delay in departure. At 08:47 GMT the next day, the C-46 lifted off from runway 29 after a long takeoff run and was cleared to climb ahead to 1500 feet. The plane started to turn left on crossing the coastline. Three minutes after takeoff, while still in a shallow climbing left-hand turn, the aircraft flew onto the southern face of Port Henderson Hills at a height of 700 feet. After scraping along rough ground over the brow of the hill, the aircraft fell down a steep precipipe and caught fire.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The aircraft was turned during the climb after takeoff at a height insufficient to clear rising ground. The ability of the pilot to avoid the hill may have been affected by some mechanical or other failure, although the occurrence of such a failure was not established. A contributing factor was that the carriage of one pilot was inadequate for the safe operation of an aircraft of this type."

Sources:
» ICAO Accident Digest No.14 Volume II, Circular 71-AN/63 (134-136)
» El Tiempo 27 November 1962, p1+18


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Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Kingston Airport to Bogotá-Eldorado Airport as the crow flies is 1491 km (932 miles).

This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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