Prinair Flight 191
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| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | June 24, 1972 |
| Type | Pilot error |
| Site | near Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Passengers | 18 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Injuries | 15 |
| Fatalities | 5 |
| Survivors | 15 |
| Aircraft type | De Havilland DH-114 Heron B2 |
| Operator | Prinair |
| Flight origin | Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport |
| Destination | Mercedita Airport |
Prinair Flight 191 was a Prinair (Puerto Rico International Airlines) flight from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Mercedita Airport in Ponce, Puerto Rico. On June 24, 1972, the aircraft crashed while attempting to land at the Mercedita Airport. Five people died in the accident.
The equipment used for this flight was a De Havilland DH-114 Heron B2 aircraft, registration number #N554PR. Eighteen passengers and a crew of two were on board.
The flight crew made a decision to abort their aircraft landing attempt at their Mercedita destination. During their final attempt to land, the pilot over-rotated the aircraft and caused it to stall and crash (among the fatalities were Eugenio (Geño) Morales, two other passengers, and the flight crew members. Raymond Rodriguez-Bosch was seriously injured, and listed as one of the injured survivors). The FAA and the NTSB investigation both concluded that the fatal crash of Prinair flight 191 was caused by "pilot-error." [1]
On 1973, a "wrongful death" and "personal injury" action was filed against Prinair and the Puerto Rico Ports Authority for its negligent acts before the Ponce Section of the Superior Court of Puerto Rico. Attorney Hector R. Cuprill [2] was appointed lead counsel for the plaintiffs and Attorney Francisco Ponza for the defendants. The Court found 100% negligence on the part of Prinair.
It was found that there was only one landing attempt and that at the time no air traffic control tower was in operation during this particular nighttime landing. The flight crew did not perform a "go-around" before landing the aircraft, but instead opted for a "straight-in" final landing approach on the runway.
The NTSB further determined that the left engine booster pump switch was in the "off" position; therefore, when the co-pilot aborted the aircraft landing and applied full throttle to both engines, only one of its engines responded and this action made the aircraft stall. Consequently, the aircraft improperly veered to the left (due to asymmetric right engine thrust) and caused it to fatally collide against the only utility pole in the area.
