San Juan – La Fortuna – Tamarindo

The single engine airplane departed San Juan Airport at 1138LT on a flight to Tamarindo with an intermediate stop in La Fortuna on behalf of SANSA - Servicios Aéreos Nacionales. At La Fortuna Airport, a Japanese tourist was drop off and the aircraft took off at 1205LT. About five minutes after takeoff, while cruising in IMC conditions at an altitude of 5,380 feet, the aircraft struck the slope of the Arenal Volcano. The wreckage was found about 200 metres below the summit and all 10 occupants were killed.

Flight / Schedule

San Juan – La Fortuna – Tamarindo

Registration

HP-1357APP

MSN

208-0709

Year of Manufacture

1998

Operator

Aeroperlas

Date

August 26, 2000 at 12:10 PM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Mountains

Crash Location

Mt Arenal Alajuela (Center-North)

Region

Central America • Costa Rica

Crash Cause

Human factor

Narrative Report

On August 26, 2000 at 12:10 PM, San Juan – La Fortuna – Tamarindo experienced a crash involving Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, operated by Aeroperlas, with the event recorded near Mt Arenal Alajuela (Center-North).

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was flight at a mountains crash site.

10 people were known to be on board, 10 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 2, crew fatalities: 2, passengers on board: 8, passenger fatalities: 8, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The single engine airplane departed San Juan Airport at 1138LT on a flight to Tamarindo with an intermediate stop in La Fortuna on behalf of SANSA - Servicios Aéreos Nacionales. At La Fortuna Airport, a Japanese tourist was drop off and the aircraft took off at 1205LT. About five minutes after takeoff, while cruising in IMC conditions at an altitude of 5,380 feet, the aircraft struck the slope of the Arenal Volcano. The wreckage was found about 200 metres below the summit and all 10 occupants were killed.

Aircraft reference details include registration HP-1357APP, MSN 208-0709, year of manufacture 1998.

Fatalities

Total

10

Crew

2

Passengers

8

Other

0

Crash Summary

The single engine airplane departed San Juan Airport at 1138LT on a flight to Tamarindo with an intermediate stop in La Fortuna on behalf of SANSA - Servicios Aéreos Nacionales. At La Fortuna Airport, a Japanese tourist was drop off and the aircraft took off at 1205LT. About five minutes after takeoff, while cruising in IMC conditions at an altitude of 5,380 feet, the aircraft struck the slope of the Arenal Volcano. The wreckage was found about 200 metres below the summit and all 10 occupants were killed.

Cause: Human factor

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

2

Passengers On Board

8

Estimated Survivors

0

Fatality Rate

100.0%

Known people on board: 10

Operational Details

Schedule / Flight

San Juan – La Fortuna – Tamarindo

Operator

Aeroperlas

Flight Type

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Mountains

Region / Country

Central America • Costa Rica

Aircraft Details

Registration

HP-1357APP

MSN

208-0709

Year of Manufacture

1998

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