American International Airways Flight 808

(Redirected from Kalitta Air Flight 808) 1993 Kalitta Air cargo plane crash

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American International Airways Flight 808
Accident
N814CK, the Kalitta Air McDonnell Douglas DC-8 involved in the accident
Date	August 18, 1993 (1993-08-18)
Summary	Stalled during steep bank due to pilot error caused by fatigue and a failed go-around attempt
Site	Leeward Point Field, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba 19°54′25″N 75°13′20″W / 19.90694°N 75.22222°W / 19.90694; -75.22222
Aircraft
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61(F)
Operator	American International Airways
Call sign	CONNIE 808
Registration	N814CK
Flight origin	Naval Station Norfolk Chambers Field, Norfolk, Virginia
Destination	Leeward Point Field, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
Occupants	3
Passengers	0
Crew	3
Fatalities	0
Injuries	3
Survivors	3

American International Airways 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 three crew members on board survived with serious injuries.

Background

Aircraft

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 accident. It was powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B engines.

Crew

In command was 54-year-old Captain James Chapo who had joined AIA on February 11, 1991, and had logged 20,727 flight hours. He previously flew for Eastern Air Lines from 1966 to 1991. His co-pilot was 49-year-old First Officer Thomas Curran who joined AIA on November 3, 1992, and had logged 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. The flight engineer was 35-year-old David Richmond who also joined AIA on February 11, 1991, and had logged 5,085 flight hours. He previously flew for Trans Continental Airlines from 1980 to 1991.

The crew began their last shift before the accident 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.

Accident

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. 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.

This map of Guantánamo Bay with Leeward Point Field marked in the bottom left corner shows the limited amount of space pilots have to align with Runway 10

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 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 on impact from the main wreckage and tumbled across the ground, coming to rest inverted with all 3 crew members alive inside, albeit with serious injuries. Firefighting efforts commenced within minutes, focusing first on the spot fires around the cockpit then the 35 acre fuel/brush fire which followed. 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 accident. 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 accident. A look back at the crew members' sleep patterns in the 72 hours before the accident revealed that all 3 had accumulated a large sleep debt from working over long shifts. In the three days before the accident, 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 judgment 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 investigation into the accident also revealed that the crew, already fatigued from a large amount of sleep debt and an extensive shift, did not have to accept the additional flights to Norfolk, Virginia and Guantanamo Bay, but did anyway for fear of losing their jobs. This discovery brought attention to the fact that toxic work environments can have dangerous consequences.

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 (Boeing 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.

Also, in the years following, the approach to runway 10 was changed to allow more room. This was completed in cooperation with the Cuban government.

Dramatization

The crash of Flight 808 was featured on the 19th season of Mayday, titled "Borderline Tactics".

References

^ "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61 N814CK Guantánamo NAS (NBW)". aviation-safety.net.
^ "Aircraft Accident Report: Uncontrolled Collision with Terrain: American International Airways Flight 808" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. - Copy at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
^ "CREW OF CRASHED JET IN CRITICAL CONDITION". Sun Sentinel. 20 August 1993.
^ Mark Rosekind. "Sleepless in America: The Deadly Cost of Fatigue in Transportation" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board.
Mayday - Air Crash Investigation (S01-S22), retrieved 2024-08-17

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1993 (1993)
Jan 6 Lufthansa Cityline Flight 5634Feb 8 Tehran mid-air collisionFeb 11 Lufthansa Flight 592Mar 5 Palair Macedonian Airlines Flight 301Mar 31 Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 46EApr 1 Alan Kulwicki Swearingen crashApr 6 China Eastern Airlines Flight 583Apr 14 American Airlines Flight 102Apr 18 Japan Air System Flight 451Apr 24 Indian Airlines Flight 427Apr 26 Indian Airlines Flight 491Apr 27 Zambia national football team plane crashMay 19 SAM Colombia Flight 501Jul 1 Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 724Jul 23 China Northwest Airlines Flight 2119Jul 26 Asiana Airlines Flight 733Jul 31 Everest Air Dornier 228 crashAug 12 Llyn Padarn helicopter crashAug 18 American International Airways Flight 808Aug 26 Sakha Avia Flight 301Aug 28 Khorog Tajikistan Airlines Yakovlev Yak-40 crashSep 14 Lufthansa Flight 2904Sep 21 Sukhumi airliners attacksOct 26 China Eastern Airlines Flight 5398Oct 27 Widerøe Flight 744Nov 4 China Airlines Flight 605Nov 13 China Northern Airlines Flight 6901Nov 20 Avioimpex Flight 110Nov 26 Auckland mid-air collisionDec 1 Northwest Airlink Flight 5719Dec 26 Kuban Airlines Flight 5719
1992 ◄ ► 1994

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1993 (1993)

Jan 6 Lufthansa Cityline Flight 5634Feb 8 Tehran mid-air collisionFeb 11 Lufthansa Flight 592Mar 5 Palair Macedonian Airlines Flight 301Mar 31 Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 46EApr 1 Alan Kulwicki Swearingen crashApr 6 China Eastern Airlines Flight 583Apr 14 American Airlines Flight 102Apr 18 Japan Air System Flight 451Apr 24 Indian Airlines Flight 427Apr 26 Indian Airlines Flight 491Apr 27 Zambia national football team plane crashMay 19 SAM Colombia Flight 501Jul 1 Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 724Jul 23 China Northwest Airlines Flight 2119Jul 26 Asiana Airlines Flight 733Jul 31 Everest Air Dornier 228 crashAug 12 Llyn Padarn helicopter crashAug 18 American International Airways Flight 808Aug 26 Sakha Avia Flight 301Aug 28 Khorog Tajikistan Airlines Yakovlev Yak-40 crashSep 14 Lufthansa Flight 2904Sep 21 Sukhumi airliners attacksOct 26 China Eastern Airlines Flight 5398Oct 27 Widerøe Flight 744Nov 4 China Airlines Flight 605Nov 13 China Northern Airlines Flight 6901Nov 20 Avioimpex Flight 110Nov 26 Auckland mid-air collisionDec 1 Northwest Airlink Flight 5719Dec 26 Kuban Airlines Flight 5719

1992 ◄ ► 1994

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in the United States and U.S. territories in the 1990s
1990	Northwest Airlines Flight 5 (January 4 1990) Avianca Flight 052 (January 25 1990) Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2254 (April 1990) Death of Stevie Ray Vaughan (August 1990) Wayne County Airport runway collision (December 1990)
1991	Los Angeles Airport runway collision (February 1 1991) Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 (February 17 1991) United Airlines Flight 585 (March 1991) Merion air disaster (April 4 1991) Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 2311 (April 5 1991) L'Express Airlines Flight 508 (July 1991) Continental Express Flight 2574 (September 1991) Vallejo helicopter crash (October 1991)
1992	CommutAir Flight 4821 (January 1992) Air Transport International Flight 805 (February 1992) USAir Flight 405 (March 1992) American Eagle Flight 5456 (June 7 1992)* GP Express Airlines Flight 861 (June 8 1992) TWA Flight 843 (July 1992)
1993	Lufthansa Flight 592 (February 1993) Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 46E (March 1993) Alan Kulwicki plane crash (April 1 1993) China Eastern Airlines Flight 583 (April 6 1993) American Airlines Flight 102 (April 14 1993) American International Airways Flight 808 (August 1993)* Northwest Airlink Flight 5719 (December 1993)
1994	United Express Flight 6291 (January 1994) Green Ramp disaster (March 1994) Federal Express Flight 705 (April 1994) Fairchild Air Force Base B-52 crash (June 1994) USAir Flight 1016 (July 1994) USAir Flight 427 (September 1994) American Eagle Flight 4184 (October 1994) TWA Flight 427 (November 1994) Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 (December 1994)
1995	Air Transport International Flight 782 (February 1995) Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529 (August 1995) Alaska Boeing E-3 Sentry accident (September 1995) American Airlines Flight 1572 (November 1995) Tower Air Flight 41 (December 1995)
1996	ValuJet Flight 592 (May 1996) Eastwind Airlines Flight 517 (June 1996) Delta Air Lines Flight 1288 (July 6 1996) TWA Flight 800 (July 17 1996) FedEx Express Flight 1406 (September 1996) Delta Air Lines Flight 554 (October 1996) Quincy Airport disaster (November 1996) Airborne Express Flight 827 (December 22 1996) New Hampshire Learjet crash (December 24 1996)
1997	Comair Flight 3272 (January 1997) FedEx Express Flight 14 (July 1997) Korean Air Flight 801 (August 6 1997)* Fine Air Flight 101 (August 7 1997) John Denver (October 1997)
1998	United Airlines Flight 863 (June 1998)
1999	American Airlines Flight 1420 (June 1999) Martha's Vineyard plane crash (July 1999) South Dakota Learjet crash (October 1999)
This list is incomplete. An asterisk (*) denotes an incident that took place in either a U.S. territory or Guantanamo Bay. 1980–1989 ◄ 1990–1999 ► 2000–2009

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Cuba
Aeroflot Flight 331 (May 1977) Cubana de Aviación Flight 9046 (September 1989) American International Airways Flight 808 (August 1993*) Aero Caribbean Flight 883 (November 2010) Air Transat Flight 961 (March 2005) Cubana de Aviación Flight 972 (May 2018)
Accidents and incidents with asterisks (*) took place in the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, controlled by the United States

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