Lineas Aéreas Paraguayas - LAPSA

Convair CV-240

While parked at Asunción-Presidente Stroessner Airport, the airplane was partially destroyed after being collided by a Pilatus PC-6 that crashed on takeoff and burned. Two of the four occupants on board the PC-6 were killed. The CV-240 was empty at the time of the accident.

Convair CV-240

The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight and was carrying eighteen passengers. It was coming in to land and was lined up with and about to touchdown on runway 10 when it suddenly underwent an abrupt change of attitude and crashed to the ground. After a series of bounces which commenced on the left wing causing it to break off together with the left power unik, the aircraft slewed round and came to rest upside down on a heading practically opposite to that of landing some 250 metres from the runway end. The pilot stated that during approach and when he was approximately 20 metres above and some 50 metres away from the runway threshold, and had just finished It calling to the co-pilot eighteen inches, reduce to idle", that is to say, when the aircraft was practically touching down, he heard the characteristic sound of propellers reversing (on both engines). At the very same moment, according to his statement, the mechanic reported this occurrence to him, and since the aircraft was nosing down and tilting to the left at the same time. he applied right rudder and tried to correct the attitude by nosing up. The aircraft, however, did not respond in spite of application of power to supplement the control manoeuvres. The aircraft nosed down and struck the runway surface. Both engines and the left wing were torn off, the aircraft went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest upside down in a grassy area. All 24 occupants were injured while the aircraft was destroyed. Crew: René Ferreira, pilot, Pablo Romero, copilot, Zacarías Soto, flight engineer, Marcial Quiñónez, radio operator, Néstor Arrúa, purser, Elodia González, stewardess. Photos via http://aeronauticapy.com/