Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela - Incidents and Accidents

Incidents and Accidents

Aeropostal has had a total of 24 accidents and incidents since 23 April 1937 with a total of 319 fatalities. The worst accident for Aeropostal (and the worst scheduled-airline accident in history until then) was on 20 June 1956, when 74 people were killed when a Lockheed Constellation, registration YV-C-AMS, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York.

• On 27 November 1956, Linea Aeropostal Flight 253, crashed while on approach to Caracas International Airport. All 25 passengers and crew on board were killed.

• On 25 January 1971, Vickers Viscount YV-C-AMV of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana crashed into a mountain near Mérida. Thirteen of the 47 people on board were killed.

• On 1 November 1971, Vickers Viscount YV-C-AMZ of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana crashed shortly after take-off from La Chinita International Airport, Maracaibo. All four people on board were killed.

• On 27 August 1972, Douglas C-47 YV-C-AKE of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana suffered a failure of the port engine shortly after take-off from Canaima Airport on a domestic scheduled passenger flight to Tomás de Heres Airport, Ciudad Bolivar. The aircraft crashed whilst attempting to return to Canaima, killing all 34 people on board.

• On 14 August 1974, Vickers Viscount YV-C-AMX of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana flew into La Gloria, Isla Margarita killing all 49 people on board.

• On 29 July 1984, Aeropostal Flight 252 from Caracas to Curaçao, two gunmen, one Haitian and one of Dominican nationality, hijacked the plane with 79 people on board. The hijackers demanded money, weapons, and a helicopter to remove five children from the aircraft, and also threatened to blow up the plane if stormed. The plane was stormed by Venezuelan commandos of the DISIP, both hijackers were killed, and all hostages were released, ending the 36-hour long crisis.

• On 26 Sep 2011, Aeropostal DC9-50 YV136T made a hard touch down at Puerto Ordaz causing both engines' (JT8D) pylons and support structures at the airframe to crack and distort nearly separating the engines from the airframe. The airplane slowed safely, stopped on the runway and was shut down. No injuries occurred, the aircraft received substantial damage. The passengers disembarked onto the runway.