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Boeing 737 crashes on takeoff from Havana

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Cuba’s state-run television reports that a Boeing 737 Cubana de Aviacion flight crashed as it took off from Havana’s Jose Marti airport. An airport source tells CNN’s Patrick Oppmann the flight was heading to Guyana, adding that there are casualties. It is unclear how many passengers were on board and/or if there are fatalities. (www.cnn.com) More...

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bartmiller
bartmiller 7
The 737 is a extremely well engineered bird. The fact that there are recent crashes is due to model's long lifetime and use of old planes in situations where the training and maintenance is below safe standards.

As mentioned below, the B-52 is an extremely old plane, but the maintenance is superb, the avionics updated, and have had several major airframe and body life-extender programs.

My own place (a Cessna TR182) is 1979, with updated panel and interior, engine overhauled, AD's up to dnte, and any corrosion or cracking aggressively treated. I'm happy to have my life (and family and friends) depend on it.

We know how to keep old planes safely flying. And old planes have less surprises, like you get in brand new models (like engines disintegrating). It just takes time and money. And care.
peterlmaas2
Peter Maas 0
foreign countries have lower safety standards. The U.S.A. have the best safety rules and standards.
MAGB
Worst thing is that former crews have denounced to Mexican authorities that this company was operating planes without radar, oxigen, life jackets, enough motor lubricant, with deflated tires and couterfit or used spare parts and lack of maintenance. Crews doesn't have proper resting periods and many other anomalies. This same plane already had an emergency landing in MMPR as the nose gear has stucked. Certain sources indicated that Global was fined with 1 million dollar...
http://www.milenio.com/negocios/desde-2008-las-quejas-por-fallas-en-global-air http://www.milenio.com/negocios/volabamos-sin-salvavidas-ni-oxigeno-sobrecargo
joelwiley
joel wiley 5
From Aviation Safety Net:
https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20180518-0
tyleremtage
Tyler Emtage 4
From the pictures of the crash site, the tail of the plane looks exactly like the tail of XA-UHZ. Here are pictures of the aircraft. https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/keyword/XA-UHZ
RDLoven
Richard Loven 2
People will screw up and machinery will break. That is never going to change. There’s probably a little of both in this flight, If you’re not a rich mans son or you live in a poor country you are always going to get hand me downs. These Countries have poor cars, poor bus’, trains everything. If you give them the choice of poor or nothing, they are going for the poor. When I was young I went for the poor and junk myself. Now I don’ Have to.
lucho1506
creo que fue error humano, aparte, son aeronaves un poco antiguas, mucha pena por las victimas..
joelwiley
joel wiley 2
thanks to google translate: I think it was human error, apart, they are a little old aircraft, a lot of pity for the victims .
Viperguy46
Jesse Carroll 1
Google App translate any language to English and visa versus!
Works very well!
LEGROUP
Creo también que hay error humano sumado a falla técnica grave, que no se pudo resolver en esa fase del vuelo, sumado al dudoso cumplimiento de mantenimiento adecuado del equipo de 1979 y que pasó por varias "manos". saludos
joelwiley
joel wiley 2
I also believe that there is human error coupled with serious technical failure, which could not be resolved in that phase of the flight, added to the dubious compliance with proper maintenance of the equipment of 1979 and that went through several "hands". regards
joelwiley
joel wiley 0
Esperemos el informe de la investigación (gracias google)

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

bentwing60
bentwing60 11
Aren't you glad. The international language isn't all that bulletproof in flight, let alone some places I have landed and opened the big airplane door. He said it the best way he knew how and Joel probably decoded it after your comment. Thanks Joel. One might keep in mind where this occurred and he might be fortunate or resourceful to have internet service and can comment on it at all. With condolences.
Peterberner
Peter Berner 4
What an ignorant comment.
wakechaserphoto
I Think it was the dash 200.
joshuagriffin
Josh Griffin 1
What actually happened?
yr2012
matt jensen 1
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cuba-crash/more-than-100-killed-in-passenger-plane-crash-in-cuba-state-tv-idUSKCN1IJ2DG

Identified as CU 972, a B737-201(?) built in 1979. The jet was leased by Cubana from a small Mexican airline called Damojh or Global
30west
30west 7
Matt, Boeing has a "customer code" for each customer. The aircraft is designated by its delivery customer's code. The code numbers are the second and third digits of the three digit model suffix after the B737, i.e. -2XX, -8XX. I hope my wording makes sense. Some examples, B727-221 was delivered to PanAm, B737-222 to United, B747-231 to TWA, B757-232 to Delta, etc.. That designation remains with the jet for its lifetime.

B737-201's were delivered to Piedmont Airlines.
tchuga
have anybody here, seen a movie called "WRZ - Whiskey Romeo Zulu"? try to see it and then you will have a small idea on what have ocurred.

Joaquim
joelwiley
joel wiley 1
In case you missed the movie, the Cliffs Notes on it are in the wiki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisky_Romeo_Zulu
ColinSeftel
Colin Seftel 1
Lots of misinformation is being reported. The photos in some articles were from other crashes. See https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/is-this-plane-crash-havana-cuba/. The aircraft was leased to Cubana by Global Air, a Mexican airline also known as Aerolineas Damojh and the crew were Mexican. Source: https://www.afp.com/en/news/717/more-100-killed-cuba-airliner-crash-doc-1551w46
sparkie624
sparkie624 -9
One thing that I noted from the first set of images... The flaps appear to be up... Not good for takeoff on a 737!
kevinkeswick
Kevin Keswick 5
Do you have a link for that picture? The only intact structure I have seen is the vertical stabilizer
wingbolt
wingbolt 3
Most likely he won’t be able to provide the picture. He normally solves accidents/ incidents with speculation and conjecture.

[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

laurenceleader
3 737 incidents so far this year. Other recents: San Fran, Turkey, Gulf of Mexico.
tyleremtage
Tyler Emtage 1
I think the reason for the mix up between the two aircraft was because I-BPAC was just another 737 in Havana at the time and it may have taken off around the same time.
tyleremtage
Tyler Emtage 1
This is a big mix up because some websites are saying it was a Boeing 737-200 and some are saying that it was a -400 and also the registrations are different, one is I-BPAC and the other is XA-UHZ and when both registrations are checked they are two totally different looking planes. From the pictures of the crash, it looks like it is the 737-200, registration XA-UHZ but I may be wrong.
sparkie624
sparkie624 -1
Another Article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/05/18/havana-cuba-boeing-737-plane-crash/623762002/
craigbell1941
craigbell1941 0
So don't retire them all. Instead give them to Third World countries so they can slowly deplete their populations. Md80 was a noisy piece of junk too and B52's have unlimited budget on maintenance costs. I was privileged to score a pattern loop in a B52 in 1979 and it was a noisy Rattletrap.
laurenceleader
737 seems to be becoming a risky aircraft, considering recent events
joelwiley
joel wiley 10
How about 'old airplanes, inconsistently maintained are becoming risky aircraft'?

Viperguy46
Jesse Carroll -6
WOW, didn't know Fake News follows this site???
joelwiley
joel wiley 3
I can find all of your words in the dictionary. However, I have trouble understanding how your comment fits into the topic of the thread. Perhaps you could clarify?
30west
30west 2
L. Leader..... I believe it's unsatisfactory, "risky" as you call it, maintenance and operation of the jet, not a "risky" jet.
ar4479
ar4479 0
The registration provided below comes back to a 737-700
tyleremtage
Tyler Emtage 0
Are you referring to XA-UHZ or I-BPAC?
maokh
maokh -1
I am confused. There are no 737's in Cubana's fleet.
maokh
maokh 2
Perhaps Wikipedia is out of date?
ar4479
ar4479 1
Who mentioned Wikipedia?
NickFlightX
NickFlightX 3
It was I-BPAC, a Blue Panorama B734 that was leased to Cubana
maokh
maokh 2
Thanks for the clarification!
ColinSeftel
Colin Seftel 1
Incorrect, it was a 732, tail number XA-UHZ or XA-UMQ leased from the Mexican airline Global Aerolineas Damojh
shrudini
shrudini 1
XA-UHZ
ar4479
ar4479 0
Perhaps it's a codeshare flight under their flag? Reports are unclear... And, of course, it's "State Run TV"
craigbell1941
craigbell1941 -5
As a retired Road Warrior, I travelled in many 100 and 200s back in the 70s and they scared the hell out of me. I cant imagine what condition those old buckets of bolts are in now. Scrap all of them.
Viperguy46
Jesse Carroll 7
Retire all of them? Tell that to the 6 generations of the B52's and Md80's that still fly!
I flew on 200 C's all through Alaska and maintained properly they got you there and back. Not to mention millions of pounds of fish!
khaiduk
Kevin Haiduk 0
Sorry off topic. I just got a new reel. But can't make it back to Alaska for a while. Jealous.

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