ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 707-321B HK-2016 Cove Neck, NY
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Thursday 25 January 1990
Time:21:34
Type:Silhouette image of generic B703 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Boeing 707-321B
Operator:Avianca
Registration: HK-2016
MSN: 19276/592
First flight: 1967
Total airframe hrs:61196
Engines: 4 Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B
Crew:Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 9
Passengers:Fatalities: 65 / Occupants: 149
Total:Fatalities: 73 / Occupants: 158
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:Cove Neck, NY (   United States of America)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature:International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Rionegro/Medellín-José María Córdova Airport (MDE/SKRG), Colombia
Destination airport:New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY (JFK/KJFK), United States of America
Flightnumber:AV052
Narrative:
Avianca Flight 052 (Bogotá - Medellin - New York-JFK) took off from Medellin at 15:08 with approx. 81000 lb of fuel on board. When arriving near New York, the aircraft had to enter 3 holding patterns. The first for 19 minutes over Norfolk, the second for 29 minutes over New Jersey, and the third pattern over the CAMRN intersection for 29 minutes. Over CAMRN the aircraft descended from FL140 to FL110. At 20:44:43, while holding at CAMRN for 26 minutes, the New York (NY) ARTCC radar controller advised AVA052 to expect further clearance at 21:05. At that moment the Avianca crew advised ATC that they could only hold for 5 more minutes and that their alternate Boston couldn't be reached anymore due to the low state of fuel. The flight left the holding pattern at 20:47 and the crew contacted the New York TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach Control) who guided AV052 for a runway 22L ILS approach. On finals, at 21:15 the crew contacted JFK Tower and they were cleared to land four minutes later.
Due to the bad weather (300 feet ceiling, 400 m visibility, RVR - runway Visual Range of 2400 feet and wind shear of ca. 10 kt) the crew had to carry out a missed approach at 21:23. ATC vectored the crew for another approach. About 21:32, at 12 miles SE of JFK Airport, engines number 3 and 4 ran down. Shortly afterwards followed by the remaining two. At 21:34, heading 250° and flaps at 14° and gear up, the aircraft impacted on a hillside in a wooded residential area on the north shore of Long Island. The starboard side of the forward fuselage impacted and fractured the wooden deck of a residential home.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The failure of the flight crew to adequately manage the airplane's fuel load, and their failure to communicate an emergency fuel situation to air traffic control before fuel exhaustion occurred. Contributing to the accident was the flight crew's failure to use an airline operational control dispatch system to assist them during the international flight into a high-density airport in poor weather. Also contributing to the accident was inadequate traffic flow management by the FAA and the lack of standardized understandable terminology for pilots and controllers for minimum and emergency fuel states. The Safety Board also determines that windshear, crew fatigue and stress were factors that led to the unsuccessful completion of the first approach and thus contributed to the accident."

Accident investigation:

cover
Investigating agency: NTSB
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 3 months
Accident number: NTSB/AAR-91-04
Download report: Final report

Classification:
Fuel exhaustion
All engine powerloss
Forced landing outside airport

Sources:
» Epidemiology of fatal and nonfatal injuries in the Avianca plane crash: Avianca Flight 052, January 25, 1990
» Aviation Week & Space Technology 2.4.1990 (52-53)
» NTSB/AAR-91/04


Follow-up / safety actions

NTSB issued 9 Safety Recommendations

Show all...

Photos

photo of Boeing-707-321B-HK-2016
accident date: 25-01-1990
type: Boeing 707-321B
registration: HK-2016
photo of Boeing-707-321B-HK-2016
accident date: 25-01-1990
type: Boeing 707-321B
registration: HK-2016
photo of Boeing-707-321B-HK-2016
accident date: 25-01-1990
type: Boeing 707-321B
registration: HK-2016
photo of Boeing-707-321B-HK-2016
accident date: 25-01-1990
type: Boeing 707-321B
registration: HK-2016
photo of Boeing-707-321B-HK-2016
accident date: 25-01-1990
type: Boeing 707-321B
registration: HK-2016
photo of Boeing-707-321B-HK-2016
accident date: 25-01-1990
type: Boeing 707-321B
registration: HK-2016
photo of Boeing-707-321B-HK-2016
Flight reconstruction based on FDR data
photo of Boeing-707-321B-HK-2016
Terrain impact graph
photo of Boeing-707-321B-HK-2016
ILS approach - profile view
photo of Boeing-707-321B-HK-2016
Seat map Boeing 707-321B HK-2016
photo of Boeing-707-321B-HK-2016
accident date: 25-01-1990
type: Boeing 707-321B
registration: HK-2016
photo of Boeing-707-321B-HK-2016
accident date: 25-01-1990
type: Boeing 707-321B
registration: HK-2016
 

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 Rionegro/Medellín-José María Córdova Airport to New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport, NY as the crow flies is 3817 km (2386 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.

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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Boeing 707

  • 858 built
  • 113th loss
  • 62nd fatal accident
  • 20th worst accident
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 United States of America
  • 28th worst accident (at the time)
  • 36th worst accident (currently)
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