Madrid - Bilbao

On January 14, 2002 at 07:28 AM, Madrid - Bilbao experienced a crash involving Embraer EMB-120 Brasília, operated by Ibertrans Aérea, with the event recorded near Zaldíbar Basque Country.

The flight was categorized as cargo and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a mountains crash site.

3 people were known to be on board, 3 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: 1, passenger fatalities: 1, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The twin engine airplane departed Madrid-Barajas at 0635LT on a cargo service (flight IBT1278) to Bilbao, carrying one company mechanic, two pilots and a load of cargo consisting of 2,873 kilos of various goods. Following an uneventful flight, the crew was cleared to start the descent to Bilbao-Sondica Airport for an ILS approach to runway 30. During the descent, the crew encountered control problems which he attributed to an autopilot malfunction. While trying to identify the problem, the crew failed to realized that the rate of descent increased when the GPWS alarm sounded three times. Shortly later, while attempting to gain height, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Santa Marina Vieja located 33 km from Bilbao Airport. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and all three occupants were killed. The wreckage was found near the village of Zaldíbar.

Aircraft reference details include registration EC-GTJ, MSN 120-024, year of manufacture 1986.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 43.1698°, -2.5488°.