Accident description
Last updated: 20 June 2013
| Status: | |
| Date: | 05 APR 1960 |
| Time: | 14:39 |
| Type: | Curtiss C-46A-40-CU Commando |
| Operator: | Lanica |
| Registration: | AN-AIN |
| C/n / msn: | 26945 |
| First flight: | 1944 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5650 |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney R-2800-51 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 4 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 14 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 18 |
| Airplane damage: | Written off |
| Airplane fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | 2,4 km (1.5 mls) from Siuna (Nicaragua) |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Siuna Airport (SIU/MNSI), Nicaragua |
| Bonanza-San Pedro Airport (BZA/MNBZ), Nicaragua |
The aircraft crashed on a hillside with a 10deg upslope, 1,5 miles from the Siuna departure runway.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "During the investigation, when the port propeller was being dismantled it was discovered that the distributor valve was broken from the base of the junction with the engine crankshaft, the first threads having broken. The break appeared to be due to fatigue. From the evidence, the rupture of the distributor valve of the port propeller appears to have been the main cause of the accident, additional factors being unfavourable terrain, wind and altitude conditions." Sources:
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Siuna Airport to Bonanza-San Pedro Airport as the crow flies is 31 km (20 miles).
Distance from Siuna Airport to Bonanza-San Pedro Airport as the crow flies is 31 km (20 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
