ASN Aircraft accident British Aerospace 3201 Jetstream 32EP N912FJ Chulúm de Juárez
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Saturday 8 July 2000
Time:19:50
Type:Silhouette image of generic JS32 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
British Aerospace 3201 Jetstream 32EP
Operator:Aerocaribe
Registration: N912FJ
MSN: 912
First flight: 1990-10-23 (9 years 9 months)
Total airframe hrs:12041
Engines: 2 Garrett TPE331-12UHR-702H
Crew:Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Passengers:Fatalities: 17 / Occupants: 17
Total:Fatalities: 19 / Occupants: 19
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:near Chulúm de Juárez (   Mexico)
Crash site elevation: 1890 m (6201 feet) amsl
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature:Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Tuxtla Gutiérrez Airport (TGZ/MMTG), Mexico
Destination airport:Villahermosa-Carlos Rovirosa Pérez International Airport (VSA/MMVA), Mexico
Flightnumber:7831
Narrative:
The British Aerospace Jetstream 32, N912FJ, operating as Aerocaribe Flight 7831, was destroyed upon impact with a steep mountain side while maneuvering around severe weather near Chulúm de Juárez, Mexico. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed near the accident site at the time of the accident. An instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed and an IFR clearance was received for the 80-nautical mile flight from the Tuxla-Gutierrez Airport (TGZ) to Villahermosa Airport (VSA).
When establishing contact with the Villahermosa Approach controller, the crew reported that they were 50 miles from their destination at FL160. The crew further indicated that they were off course from the V-3 airway by about 15 miles to the right due to bad weather en route and that they were commencing the descent. The controller requested the flight to report at 25 DME.
The last radio contact was when the flight reported at 42 DME at 6200 feet on the 150 radial of the Villahermosa VOR.
Immediately after this last call, the aircraft impacted a mountain.

Probable Cause:

Probable cause: "Combining instrument flight (IFR), with visual flight (VFR), the crew lost situational awareness, deviating 29.8 miles to the right of the Victor 3 airway due to bad weather, when the weather conditions imposed the application of the instrument flight rules (IFR), causing collision of the aircraft with the mountain at 6200 feet of elevation without loss of control (CFIT)."
Contributing factors:
- severe weather conditions en route.
- persistence of the pilot in command, to continue the instrument flight (IFR) on visual flight (VFR)
- inconsistency in cockpit resource management (CRM)
- loss of situational awareness of the flight crew and the controllers, due to numerous deviations from the route, due to severe weather conditions and poor communication between the parties.
- inadequate preparation of the flight plan, since in view of the very probable need to circumnavigate severe meteorological conditions, the flight altitudes that would continue outside of the controlled airspace (outside the v-3 airway) were not verified.

Accident investigation:

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Investigating agency: SCT Mexico
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 107 days (4 months)
Accident number: 050/00
Download report: Final report

Classification:
VFR flight in IMC
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain

Sources:
» EFE
» NTSB


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 Tuxtla Gutiérrez Airport to Villahermosa-Carlos Rovirosa Pérez International Airport as the crow flies is 144 km (90 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.

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.
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Jetstream 31

  • 386 built
  • 18th loss
  • 9th fatal accident
  • The worst accident
» safety profile

 Mexico
  • 20th worst accident
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