Date:	Sunday 4 February 1996
Time:	14:12
Type:	Douglas DC-8-55F
Owner/operator:	Líneas Aéreas del Caribe - LAC Colombia
Registration:	HK-3979X
MSN:	45882/282
Year of manufacture:	1966
Total airframe hrs:	66326 hours
Cycles:	20567 flights
Engine model:	Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B (Q)
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Other fatalities:	18
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	2 km N of Asunción-Silvio Pettirossi International Airport (ASU) -   Paraguay
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Cargo
Departure airport:	Asunción-Silvio Pettirossi International Airport (ASU/SGAS)
Destination airport:	São Paulo/Campinas-Viracopos International Airport, SP (VCP/SBKP)
Investigating agency:	CIPAA
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
The DC-8 took off for an empty positioning flight from Asuncion runway 02. At VR power was reduced on no. 1 engine and, after rotation, also on the no. 2 engine. With the gear still down and flaps at 15° the pilot lost control and crashed on a playing field 2 km past the runway.

PROBABLE CAUSE:
Violent collision with the ground with post-impact fire due to loss of control of the aircraft in flight caused by procedures incorrectly performed by the crew during the critical takeoff phase, the effects of which resulted in an extremely adverse configuration of the aircraft for that phase of flight, which could not be counteracted and control of the aircraft was lost, resulting in a significant reduction in speed and subsequent loss of lift.

Contributing Factors:
1 Little experience of the pilot in command in this function
2 Lack of flight safety doctrine in the cockpit at all pre-flight times.
3 Probable execution of unauthorized take-off training under uncontrolled conditions and by a person not qualified as an instructor.
4 Probable lack of knowledge of the flight characteristics with an empty aircraft on the part of the crew.

ICAO Adrep Summary 2/96 (#25)
Scramble 202(49)

photo (c) via Werner Fischdick; Miami International Airport, FL (MIA); January 1994

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