West Caribbean Airways Flight 9955

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West Caribbean Airways Flight 9955

A wreckage from flight 9955
Accident
Date	26 March 2005 (2005-03-26)
Summary	Stalled shortly after take-off due to engine flameout
Site	El Embrujo Airport, Colombia 13°21′21″N 81°21′45″W / 13.35583°N 81.36250°W / 13.35583; -81.36250
Aircraft
A L-410 Turbolet similar to the accident aircraft
Aircraft type	Let L-410 Turbolet
Aircraft name	Old Providence
Operator	West Caribbean Airways
IATA flight No.	YH9955
ICAO flight No.	WCW9955
Call sign	WEST 9955
Registration	HK-4146
Flight origin	El Embrujo Airport
Destination	Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport
Occupants	14
Passengers	12
Crew	2
Fatalities	9
Injuries	5
Survivors	5

West Caribbean Airways Flight 9955 was a scheduled flight between Isla de Providencia and San Andres Island, Colombia that crashed on 26 March 2005, killing 9 of the 14 passengers and crew on board. It was the first fatal crash in West Caribbean Airways history.

The aircraft involved was a Let L-410 Turbolet with manufacturer serial number (MSN) 902426, built on 28 April 1990. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was 14 years, 10 months, and 26 days old and had accumulated 6,901 flight hours.^[1]

The flight crew consisted of a captain and a copilot. The captain, Rodolfo Blanco Martínez, age 42, had a total of 6,038 flying hours, including 145 hours on the Let L-410 type. He had also flown the Piper PA-34.

The copilot, Edwin Dagoberto Giraldo Florez, age 26, had 868 total flying hours, with 653 hours on type.^[1][2]

According to a statement from West Caribbean Airways, the occupants of the aircraft were:^[3]

The following passengers died in the crash or from injuries sustained:

• José Toro (3 years old)
• Sandra Blanco
• Maritza Murcia
• Patricia Tabares
• Alejandro Charles
• Jacqueline Brenes
• Indira Arellano
• Consuelo Moncano (5 years old)
• Joseph Blombom (initially survived but later died due to injuries)

The following passengers survived the crash:

• María Moncano
• Juanita Toro
• Indira Medrano
• Ricardo Pardo
• Angie Smith

The aircraft, a Let L-410 Turbolet, had just taken off from El Embrujo Airport at 9:50. The plane took off without problems; when it reached approximately 300 feet in height, it turned to the right and crashed into a mangrove swamp. The left engine flamed out during the takeoff roll, but the crew continued. The speed of the aircraft decreased rapidly, and it banked dangerously too far to the right and stalled. The aircraft crashed into a mangrove forest, located just 113 metres (371 ft) from the airport runway.^[4][3]

Both pilots and 7 of the 12 passengers were killed in the crash. One passenger initially survived the crash, but succumbed to their injuries shortly after being rescued. The survivors were taken to hospitals in San Andrés and Bogotá. Providencia Island was experiencing increased activity due to the Christian Holy Week holidays at the time of the accident.^[5][6]

This crash further worsened the already critical situation that had been facing West Caribbean Airways. Only 5 months later, the airline suffered another fatal and even deadlier accident on 16 August 2005, when Flight 708, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, crashed in Venezuela killing all 160 people on board which further worsened the company's image. The airline ceased operations in October of the same year.

• West Caribbean Airways Flight 708
• List of accidents and incidents involving the Let L-410 Turbolet

• Final report - Aerocivil (in Spanish) (Archive)