Boston Haitian Reporter
September 2003
Plane Explodes in Cap-Haitien, Killing All
21; Official: Plane Was
Overloaded, Nearly Crashed Before
A commuter passenger plane exploded and crashed after take off August 24
from Haiti's northern city of Cap-Haitien, killing all 21 aboard, news reports
said.
Five minutes after it took off on Sunday afternoon, witnesses
saw smoke
billowing from the twin-propeller plane which sent distress signals to the
Cap-Haitien control tower, private Radio Maxima reported.
There was an explosion and crash, witnesses told the radio
station's
director Jean-Robert Lalane, who spoke to The Associated Press by telephone
from the scene. It was unclear whether the explosion came before or after the
crash, he said.
Just days before the plane exploded, the Associated Press learned, the
U.S. State Department had issued a warning to U.S. citizens not to use the
airline because its planes were not properly maintained. Another source said
that the plane was overloaded and made a dangerous landing the night before.
The airport official said the pilot, an old friend who died in the crash with
19 passengers and a young co-pilot, had been rattled from an August 23rd flight
when he was forced to make an illegal night-time landing around 7 p.m. Haiti's
provincial airstrips are not illuminated.
"He was able to land safely but said it was the last time he
would take
such a big risk," said the official, a senior manager who spoke on condition of
anonymity for fear of losing his job.
Tropical Airways d'Haiti's aircraft,
a Czech-made Let L-410, took off at
4 p.m. on Sunday with too many passengers and too much baggage, some large and
heavy, the official told The Associated Press in an interview.
"While the plane has capacity for 19 passengers, only 17 should
be
allowed on board for safety purposes," he said.
In addition, the airport official said the engine of the
twin-engine
turboprop failed to start Sunday for Charles Gauvin, a former military pilot
with 25 years flying experience. He said the engines started on a second try
and the plane took off.
Balane said thousands of people had gathered around the fuming
wreckage
at Lory, about three miles west of the city, in a sugarcane field strewn with
the charred bodies of the 19 passengers, pilot and co-pilot.
Investigators have recovered the black box from the plane.
Four government investigators were traveling Monday to the
crash site in
northern Haiti, Radio Maxima reported.
Meanwhile the director of Haiti's civil aviation authority
promised to
increase oversight, but said there was no need to cancel flights or ground
other aircraft operated by Tropical Airways d'Haiti.
The U.S. State Department warned on its consular information
site Aug. 15
that U.S. Embassy staff and official visitors to Haiti were being told to avoid
flying Tropical Airways because of "serious concerns"
over maintenance
oversights.
"Americans considering travel on Tropical
Airways may wish to defer their
travel or pursue other means," the State Department said.
The airline was still operating daily flights after the crash
to major
Haitian cities, the Bahamas and to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Article copyright Boston Neighborhood News, Inc.
Associated Press Worldstream
August 28, 2003 Thursday
U.S. State Department warned Americans not to fly
Tropical Airways ten days before Haiti plane crash
DATELINE: PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti
Days before a Tropical Airways plane exploded
in a sugarcane field killing all 21 people aboard, the U.S. State Department
issued a warning to U.S. citizens not to use the airline because its planes were
not properly maintained.
The twin-engine turboprop Let-410 crashed Sunday. Most of those killed were Haitians living in the Bahamas and returning for a religious festival in the coastal town of Port-de-Paix.
Shortly after the plane took off on Sunday afternoon, smoke billowed out and a
back hatch opened, allowing baggage to tumble out, witnesses said. The aircraft
plummeted and exploded in a ball of fire several kilometers from the Cap-Haitien
airport.
The U.S. State Department warned on its consular information site Aug. 15 that U.S. Embassy staff and official visitors to Haiti were being told to avoid flying Tropical Airways because of "serious concerns" over maintenance oversights.
"Americans considering travel on Tropical Airways may wish to defer their travel or pursue other means," the State Department said.
The airline was still operating daily flights Thursday to major Haitian cities, the Bahamas and to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Tropical Airways assistant executive officer Cassandre Mecklenburg said everything was up to standard the day of the flight.
But a senior official at the Cap-Haitien airport told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the flight was overloaded with passengers and too much baggage.
Only 17 passengers should have been allowed aboard the 19-passenger plane, the senior airport official told the AP. Moreover, the plane would not start initially on Sunday.
The Communications Plus public relations firm, hired by Tropical Airways, said two new engines had replaced the old ones three weeks before the crash. The firm said the plane was not equipped with a data recorder.
"We are committed to shedding light on the circumstances of the accident," said Tropical Airways President Philip Gornail.
Haiti's National Office of Civil Aviation has not yet announced the findings of its investigation, but it promised to increase oversight, and director Jean-Lemaire Pierre said there was no need to cancel flights.
According to U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Haiti's aviation authority does not ensure local airlines meet international standards.
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