
Narrative:
The aircraft was on a tourist excursion flight, which originated on the same day at 08:00, from Punta Cana International Airport, Dominican Republic. Destination was Santiago de Los Caballeros, with nine tourists on board. On the return flight, at approximately 70 miles northwest of the Punta Cana Airport, the captain decided to fly to the La Romana Airport (the alternate airport), to refuel because he did not perform this operation at the Cibao Airport and because the fuel quantity indicator in the left tank was inoperative. He had doubts about the remaining fuel in the tanks. On the way to the alternate airport, the no.1 engine failed. The captain attempt to restart the engine but this failed. Engine no. 2 was still running. The pilot, aware that the fault that turned off engine no.1 was the lack of fuel, made the decision to land in a sugarcane field near El Prado, located in the province of El Seybo, for fear that the remaining engine would also go out, perhaps without a suitable place to land later. Given these conditions, the captain chose a segment of a lane in the middle of two cane fields, where he made the emergency landing. The surface of this trail was not totally flat. After having a landing run of about 100 feet, the nose wheel collided with a stone, breaking the nose landing gear. Directional control was lost and the aircraft turned to the left, entering a cane field.
Cause:
- The accident occurred due to the fact that engine # 1 was turned off due to lack of fuel and when making the emergency landing the captain could not keep the aircraft in the correct path of the selected lane for said landing.
Forced landing outside airport
accident date: 07-02-2008
type: Britten-Norman BN-2A-26 Islander
registration: HI-653CA
» source: Werner Fischdick
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Thursday 7 February 2008 |
| Time: | 17:20 |
| Type: |  Britten-Norman BN-2A-26 Islander |
| Operator: | Caribair, S.A. |
| Registration: | HI-653CA |
| MSN: | 8 |
| First flight: | 1967-10-09 (40 years 4 months) |
| Total airframe hrs: | 21405 |
| Engines: | 2 Lycoming O-540-E4C5 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 8 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 9 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Aircraft fate: | Repaired |
| Location: | El Prado, El Seybo ( Dominican Republic)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Non Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Santiago de los Caballeros-Cibao International Airport (STI/MDST), Dominican Republic |
| Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ/MDPC), Dominican Republic |
The aircraft was on a tourist excursion flight, which originated on the same day at 08:00, from Punta Cana International Airport, Dominican Republic. Destination was Santiago de Los Caballeros, with nine tourists on board. On the return flight, at approximately 70 miles northwest of the Punta Cana Airport, the captain decided to fly to the La Romana Airport (the alternate airport), to refuel because he did not perform this operation at the Cibao Airport and because the fuel quantity indicator in the left tank was inoperative. He had doubts about the remaining fuel in the tanks. On the way to the alternate airport, the no.1 engine failed. The captain attempt to restart the engine but this failed. Engine no. 2 was still running. The pilot, aware that the fault that turned off engine no.1 was the lack of fuel, made the decision to land in a sugarcane field near El Prado, located in the province of El Seybo, for fear that the remaining engine would also go out, perhaps without a suitable place to land later. Given these conditions, the captain chose a segment of a lane in the middle of two cane fields, where he made the emergency landing. The surface of this trail was not totally flat. After having a landing run of about 100 feet, the nose wheel collided with a stone, breaking the nose landing gear. Directional control was lost and the aircraft turned to the left, entering a cane field.
Probable Cause:
Cause:
- The accident occurred due to the fact that engine # 1 was turned off due to lack of fuel and when making the emergency landing the captain could not keep the aircraft in the correct path of the selected lane for said landing.
Accident investigation:

 |
|
Classification:
Fuel exhaustionForced landing outside airport
Sources:
» Avioneta cae en El Seibo con 9 a bordo (El Caribe CDN, 8-2-2008)Follow-up / safety actions
CIAA Dom. Rep. issued 1 Safety Recommendation
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Photos
accident date: 07-02-2008
type: Britten-Norman BN-2A-26 Islander
registration: HI-653CA
Aircraft history
| date | registration | operator | remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09 OCT 1967 | G-51-1 | first flight | |
| 09 OCT 1967 | I-TRAM | Aertirrena | |
| G-AVRC | Britten-Norman | ||
| TF-REJ | Vaengir | ||
| G-AVRC | |||
| 07 JUN 1978 | N28BN | Air Investments | |
| N28BN | Luciya Air Services, Bahamas | ||
| N28BN | Coastal Air Transport Inc. | ||
| N28BN | LAPSA | ||
| 22 MAY 1992 | HI- | ||
| N28BN | Caribair Inc. | ||
| HI-653 | Caribair Inc. | ||
| HI-653CA | Caribair Inc. |
» source: Werner Fischdick
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 Santiago de los Caballeros-Cibao International Airport to Punta Cana International Airport as the crow flies is 252 km (157 miles).
Accident location: Exact; as reported in the official accident report.
Distance from Santiago de los Caballeros-Cibao International Airport to Punta Cana International Airport as the crow flies is 252 km (157 miles).
Accident location: Exact; as reported in the official accident report.
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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