Experts uncover something startling that threatens cargo pilots worldwide when they investigate the crash of a US plane at Guantanamo Bay
American International Airways (AIA) Flight 808 was a cargo flight operated by American International Airways (now Kalitta Air) that crashed on August 18, 1993 while attempting to land at Leeward Point Field at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. All 3 crew members on board survived with serious injuries.
Aircraft and crew
The aircraft involved was N814CK, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61(F) manufactured in December 1969. Originally configured for passenger service, in 1991 it was sold to AIA and converted into a freighter. The aircraft had accumulated 43,947 flight hours and 18,829 flight cycles at the time of the crash. It was powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B engines.
54-year-old Captain James Chapo had joined AIA on February 11, 1991 and had 20,727 flight hours. He previously flew for Eastern Air Lines from 1966 to 1991. 49-year-old First Officer Thomas Curran joined AIA on November 3, 1992 and had 15,350 flight hours. He previously flew for Eastern Air Lines from 1968 to 1992 and served with the U.S. Navy from 1963 to 1968 during the Vietnam War. 35-year-old Flight Engineer David Richmond also joined AIA on February 11, 1991 and had 5,085 flight hours. He previously flew for Trans Continental Airlines from 1980 to 1991.
The crew began their last shift before the crash near midnight on August 17, flying N814CK from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, Missouri, Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. The flight to Atlanta was supposed to be the end of the crew's shift. Flight 808 was originally scheduled for a separate crew in Miami, Florida using N808CK, another DC-8. This was canceled after N808CK suffered mechanical problems, so the accident crew were rescheduled to fly to Chambers Field in Norfolk, Virginia to pick up and deliver the freight bound for Guantánamo Bay and return to Atlanta.
Crash
The flight took off from Norfolk at 14:13 EST. It was transporting mail and perishable food to the Guántanamo Bay Naval Base as per AIA's contract with the US Navy.[3] The flight was uneventful up to and during the arrival into Guantánamo Bay's terminal control area. The crew first made radio contact with air traffic control at 16:34. The controller reported instructions for approaching the airport and also stated that the runway in use would be Runway 10. The crew requested for this to be changed to Runway 28, which the controller accepted and followed up on by issuing further landing instructions. However, at 16:42, the crew requested for the runway to be switched back to 10 again, which the controller also granted.
The plane had begun the turn too late, requiring it to make a steeper bank to align with the runway. A pilot of a Lockheed C-130 on the airport ramp stated "It looked to me as if he was turning to final rather late so it surprised me to see him at 30 to 40 degrees AOB [Angle of Bank] trying to make final. At 400 feet (120 m) above ground level, he increased AOB to at least 60 degrees in an effort to make the runway and still overshooting."At 200–300 feet (61–91 m) above ground level, the right wing stalled. The nose pitched down as the wings rolled toward 90 degrees and at 16:56, the aircraft struck level terrain 1,400 feet (470 yd; 430 m) from the end of the runway. The plane was destroyed by the impact and post-crash fire and none of its cargo was salvaged. The cockpit had separated from the main wreckage and slid across the ground, coming to rest inverted with all 3 crew members alive inside, albeit with serious injuries.Special permission was granted for a medical aircraft to overfly Cuban airspace to save time transporting the crew to hospital.
Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the accident. The cockpit voice recorder revealed that the flight crew had decided to land on Runway 10 "...for the heck of it to see how it is..." and planned to go-around and land on Runway 28 if they missed. During the approach to Runway 10, the air traffic controller told the crew to remain within the airspace designated by a strobe light mounted on the Cuban border fence. Unknown to the controller, this strobe light was inoperative on the day of the crash. Captain Chapo became fixated on trying to locate the strobe light, which led him to begin the turn too late and failed to maintain his airspeed during the steep turn despite warnings from his other crew members.
Having been on duty since midnight, Captain Chapo had been awake for 23.5 hours, First Officer Curran for 19 hours and Flight Engineer Richmond for 21 hours at the time of the crash. A look back at the crew members' sleep patterns in the 72 hours before the crash revealed that all 3 had accumulated a large sleep debt from working over long shifts. In the 3 days before the crash, Captain Chapo slept for a total of 15 hours, First Officer Curran for 18 hours and Flight Engineer Richmond for 21.5 hours. Most of the crew's shifts were done at night, requiring them to attempt to sleep in the day, which disrupted their circadian rhythm. This aggravated the effects of fatigue on the crew, with Captain Chapo in particular observed suffering from various symptoms, including impaired judgement with his decision to land on Runway 10, his cognitive fixation on trying to locate the strobe light, the poor communication with his crew about their decreasing airspeed and his slow reaction time in avoiding and recovering from the stall.
The NTSB determined the probable causes to be:
"The impaired judgement, decision-making and flying abilities of the captain and flight crew due to the effects of fatigue; the captain's failure to properly assess the conditions for landing and maintaining vigilant situational awareness of the airplane while manoeuvring onto final approach; his failure to prevent the loss of airspeed and avoid a stall while in the steep bank turn; and his failure to execute immediate action to recover from a stall.
Aftermath
AIA Flight 808 was the first aviation accident where pilot fatigue was cited as a probable cause.The NTSB issued a recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration to review and update regulations on crew scheduling and duty time limits to incorporate the latest research into the effects of fatigue.
Captain Chapo suffered back injuries that left him unable to go back to commercial flying. Because of the severity of his injuries, First Officer Curran's right leg had to be amputated. He eventually regained his flight status and went back to flying as a DC-8 Captain at AIA. In 2000, he became an NTSB Aviation Safety Investigator (Operations) and later, worked as a Federal Aviation Administration Safety Inspector (B-767 Aircrew Program Manager) at the Delta Certificate Management Office. Flight Engineer Richmond also managed to recover and return to cargo flights, eventually becoming a captain for Frontier Airlines before retiring in 2018.
Tags
air crash investigation season 19
air crash investigation season 19 episode 3
air crash investigation season 19 episode 9
air crash investigation season 19 episode 2
air crash investigation season 19 episode 10
air crash investigation season 19 episode 8
air crash investigation season 19 episode 6
air crash investigation season 19 episode 7
air crash investigation season 19 dailymotion
air crash investigation season 19 episode 5
air crash investigation season 19 episode 1
air crash investigation season 19 episode 4
air crash investigation season 19 air date
air crash investigation season 19 amazon prime
air crash investigation season 19 amazon
air crash investigation season 19 and 20
air crash investigation season 19 antm
air crash investigation season 19 amazing race
air crash investigation season 19 america's next top model
air crash investigation season 19 reddit
air crash investigation season 17 episode 1
air crash investigation season 17
air crash investigation season 13
air crash investigation season 16
air crash investigation season 19 best episodes
air crash investigation season 19 bilibili
air crash investigation season 21 release date
best episodes of air crash investigation
air crash investigation season 19 cast
air crash investigation season 19 complete
air crash investigation season 19 cast list
air crash investigation season 19 complete series
air crash investigation season 19 coming to netflix
air crash investigation season 19 cockpit killer
air crash investigation season 15 episode 3
air crash investigation season 18 episode 1
air crash investigations season 21
air crash investigation season 22 episode 1
air crash investigation season 19 download
air crash investigation season 19 dvd
air crash investigation dailymotion season 19
list of mayday air crash investigation episodes
air crash investigation season 19 full episodes
air crash investigation season 19 watch online free
air crash investigation facebook season 19
air crash investigation season 19 gomovies
air crash investigation season 19 guest stars
air crash investigation season 19 guests
air crash investigation season 19 gratis
air crash investigation season 19 google drive
air crash investigation season 19 go on sale
air crash investigation season 18
air crash investigation season 18 dailymotion
air crash investigation season 19 hulu
air crash investigation season 19 how
air crash investigation season 19 hd
air crash investigation season 19 houseguests
air crash investigation season 19 hell's kitchen
air crash investigation season 21 seconds from touchdown
air crash investigation season 21 episode 10
air crash investigation season 19 imdb
air crash investigation season 19 intro
air crash investigation season 19 in english
air crash investigation season 19 intent
air crash investigation season 19 impossible pitch
air crash investigation season 19 jetblue
air crash investigation season 19 jet
air crash investigation season 19 jett
air crash investigation season 19 june 2022
air crash investigation season 19 jade
air crash investigation season 19 jade full episode
air crash investigation season 21 caught in a jam
j archive season 19
air crash investigation season 19 kiss
air crash investigation season 19 korean
air crash investigation season 19 keys
air crash investigation season 19 kdrama
air crash investigation season 19 kisscartoon
air crash investigation season 19 kristin
air crash investigation season 19 katherine c
air crash investigation season 19 killer
kc air show crash
air crash investigation season 19 list
air crash investigation season 19 latest episode
air crash investigation season 19 leak
air crash investigation season 19 latest
air crash investigation season 19 list of episodes
air crash investigation season 19 law and order svu
air crash investigation season 19 last episode
air crash investigation season 19 law and order
mayday air crash investigation season 19
air crash investigation season 19 netflix
air crash investigation season 19 number of episodes
air crash investigation season 19 new
air crash investigation season 19 netflix release date
air crash investigation season 19 watch online
air crash investigation season 19 part 2
air crash investigation season 19 part 1
air crash investigation season 19 pilot
air crash investigation season 19 premiere date
air crash investigation season 19 premiere
air crash investigation season 19 pitch
air crash investigation season 19 queens
air crash investigation season 19 quotes
air crash investigation season 19 quiz
air crash investigation season 19 qartulad
air crash investigation season 19 queensland
air crash investigation television show season 19
air crash investigation season 19 uncut
air crash investigation season 19 us
air crash investigation season 19 update
air crash investigation season 19 usa
air crash investigation season 19 ultimate fighter
air crash investigation season 19 ultimate fighter finale
air crash investigation season 19 ultimate fighter winner
us air crash investigation
us air crash 1991
air crash investigation season 19 videos
air crash investigation season 19 victoria
air crash investigation how to watch
air crash investigation season 19 xem phim
air crash investigation season 19 xfinity
air crash investigation season 19 youtube
air crash investigation season 19 youtube full episodes
youtube air crash investigation full episodes
air crash investigation season 19 zulu
air crash investigation season 19 zeus
air crash investigation season 19 zeke
air crash investigation season 19 zee
air crash investigation season 19 zee5
air crash investigation season 19 zingbot
air crash investigation season 21 episodes
air crash investigation season 19 0123movies
air crash investigation season 19 007
air crash investigation s01e01
air crash investigation s02e05
air crash investigation season 19 123movies
air crash investigation list of episodes
air crash investigation list
what time did the last plane crash on 9/11
which flights crashed on 911
where did the 5 planes crash on 911