Avianca Flight 03 was a

passenger flight An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in which ...

from Cartagena, Colombia to Bogotá, Colombia that crashed on January 14, 1966. After takeoff, as the aircraft reached , it stalled and crashed into shallow water. After a 14-month investigation, engine failure was found to be a possible, but unproven, cause. Poor maintenance and inadequate inspections were also suspected.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a

Douglas C-54 The Douglas C-54 Skymaster is a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces in World War II and the Korean War. Like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain derived from the DC-3, the C-54 Skymaster was derived from a civilia ...

, the military version of the

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1 ...

produced during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, registered HK-730 to Avianca. The aircraft involved was produced in 1944; because of military needs, it was equipped with larger fuel tanks, which allowed for intercontinental passenger flights.

Sequence of events

At 20:50 on January 14, the aircraft was cleared for takeoff. The plane reached after rotation, but then began to descend. It then crashed into the sea 1,300 meters from the airport

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

. Out of the 64 people aboard, only 8 survived.

External links

References

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Colombia Avianca accidents and incidents 1966 in Colombia Aviation accidents and incidents in Colombia Aviation accidents and incidents in 1966 January 1966 events in South America Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-4