Havana – Holguín

After takeoff from runway 06 at Havana-José Martí Airport, while in initial climb, the undercarriage were raised when the aircraft entered an excessive nose-up angle of 30°. It rolled to the right then descended until it struck power cables and a railway track before it disintegrated in a field located less than one km east from the airport. Three female passengers were seriously injured while 110 other occupants were killed, among them 102 Cubans, 6 Mexicans (crew) and 2 Argentinians. Three days after the accident, one of the three survivors died from her injuries. A second survivor died one week later, on May 25. The aircraft was operated by Cubana de Aviacíon under a wet lease contract from the Mexican operator Global Air (Damojh Aéreolíneas), and the service was operated under callsign DMJ972.

Flight / Schedule

Havana – Holguín

Aircraft

Boeing 737-200

Registration

XA-UHZ

MSN

21816/592

Year of Manufacture

1979

Date

May 18, 2018 at 12:10 PM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Flight Phase

Takeoff (climb)

Crash Site

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Crash Location

Havana-José Martí (Rancho Boyeros) La Habana

Region

Central America • Cuba

Crash Cause

Human factor

Narrative Report

On May 18, 2018 at 12:10 PM, Havana – Holguín experienced a crash involving Boeing 737-200, operated by Cubana de Aviación, with the event recorded near Havana-José Martí (Rancho Boyeros) La Habana.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

113 people were known to be on board, 112 fatalities were recorded, 1 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 99.1%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 6, passengers on board: 107, passenger fatalities: 106, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. After takeoff from runway 06 at Havana-José Martí Airport, while in initial climb, the undercarriage were raised when the aircraft entered an excessive nose-up angle of 30°. It rolled to the right then descended until it struck power cables and a railway track before it disintegrated in a field located less than one km east from the airport. Three female passengers were seriously injured while 110 other occupants were killed, among them 102 Cubans, 6 Mexicans (crew) and 2 Argentinians. Three days after the accident, one of the three survivors died from her injuries. A second survivor died one week later, on May 25. The aircraft was operated by Cubana de Aviacíon under a wet lease contract from the Mexican operator Global Air (Damojh Aéreolíneas), and the service was operated under callsign DMJ972.

Aircraft reference details include registration XA-UHZ, MSN 21816/592, year of manufacture 1979.

Fatalities

Total

112

Crew

6

Passengers

106

Other

0

Crash Summary

After takeoff from runway 06 at Havana-José Martí Airport, while in initial climb, the undercarriage were raised when the aircraft entered an excessive nose-up angle of 30°. It rolled to the right then descended until it struck power cables and a railway track before it disintegrated in a field located less than one km east from the airport. Three female passengers were seriously injured while 110 other occupants were killed, among them 102 Cubans, 6 Mexicans (crew) and 2 Argentinians. Three days after the accident, one of the three survivors died from her injuries. A second survivor died one week later, on May 25. The aircraft was operated by Cubana de Aviacíon under a wet lease contract from the Mexican operator Global Air (Damojh Aéreolíneas), and the service was operated under callsign DMJ972.

Cause: Human factor

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

6

Passengers On Board

107

Estimated Survivors

1

Fatality Rate

99.1%

Known people on board: 113

Operational Details

Schedule / Flight

Havana – Holguín

Flight Type

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Flight Phase

Takeoff (climb)

Crash Site

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Region / Country

Central America • Cuba

Aircraft Details

Aircraft

Boeing 737-200

Registration

XA-UHZ

MSN

21816/592

Year of Manufacture

1979

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