Havana - Cologne - Milan

On September 3, 1989 at 06:57 PM, Havana - Cologne - Milan experienced a crash involving Ilyushin II-62, operated by Cubana de Aviación, with the event recorded near Havana-José Martí (Rancho Boyeros) La Habana.

The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a city crash site.

126 people were known to be on board, 171 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 135.7%.

Crew on board: 11, crew fatalities: 11, passengers on board: 115, passenger fatalities: 115, other fatalities: 45.

The listed crash cause is human factor. Flight CU9646 was a charter flight from Havana to Milan with an intermediate stop in Cologne, carrying Italian tourists. One hour before takeoff, a low pressure zone was located about nine km from the airport of Havana with winds up to 40 km/h. The wind force increased during the last minutes prior to takeoff and the captain decided to takeoff despite unsafe conditions. After takeoff from runway 05, while in initial climb, gear was raised and the crew selected flaps from 30° to 15°. The aircraft encountered difficulties to gain height, struck elements of the ILS antenna located 220 meters past the runway end, struck a hill and crashed in a residential area. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and several houses and buildings were destroyed. Among the 126 occupants, a men aged 22 was seriously injured while all 125 other occupants were killed as well as 45 people on the ground. Eight days later, the only survivor died from his injuries. At least 59 people on the ground were injured. It was determined that wind was gusting up to 100 km/h at the time of the accident with downdrafts and windshear located in the climb path.

Aircraft reference details include registration CU-T1281, MSN 3850453, year of manufacture 1989.