Avianca Airlines Flight 52 was a regularly scheduled flight from Bogotá's El Dorado International Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport via Medellín, Colombia's José María Córdova International Airport. On Thursday, January 25, 1990, the aircraft performing this flight, a Boeing 707-321B registered as HK-2016, crashed into the town of Cove Neck, Long Island, New York after running out of fuel. 73 out of the 158 passengers and crew on board were killed. January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Cove Neck is a village located in Nassau County, New York. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Avianca (acronym of Aerovías del Continente Americano, formerly Aerovías Nacionales de Colombia) is a commercial airline headquartered in Barranquilla, Colombia. ... Nickname: Athens of Latin America Motto: Bogotá, 2600 metros más cerca de las estrellas Bogotá, 2600 metres closer to the stars Municipalities of Bogotá Country Colombia Department Bogotá, D.C.* Foundation August 6, 1538 Mayor Luís Eduardo Garzón, PDA Area    - City 1,732 km² Elevation 2,640... El Dorado airport Runway 13R/31L AeroSucre aircraft parked at the Domestic Cargo Terminals. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... John F. Kennedy International Airport (IATA: JFK, ICAO: KJFK) is an international airport located in Jamaica, Queens, in south-eastern New York City. ... Nickname: The City of Everlasting Spring, Mountains Capital, City Of The Flowers, Orchids Capital, Beautiful Village, Little Silver Cup, Medallo Coordinates: Departamento Antioquia Region Valle de Aburrá Alcalde Sergio Fajardo Valderrama Area    - City 382 km² Elevation 1495 m Population    - City (2006) 2,223,078  - Density 5320. ... José María Córdova International Airport (IATA: MDE, ICAO: SKRG) is the main airport serving the city of Medellín, Colombia and its surrounding metropolitan area. ... January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... The Boeing 707 is a four engined commercial passenger jet aircraft developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. ... Cove Neck is a village located in Nassau County, New York. ... Mercator projection of Long Island Long Island is an island in New York, USA. It has an area of 1,377 square miles (3567 km²) and a population of 7. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ...

The last minutes of Flight 52

On January 25, 1990, Avianca Flight 52 had been in a holding pattern over New York for over one hour due to fog limiting arrivals and departures into John F. Kennedy International Airport. During this hold, the aircraft was exhausting its reserve fuel supply which would have allowed it to divert to Boston in case of an emergency or situation such as this one. January 25 is the 25th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... John F. Kennedy International Airport (IATA: JFK, ICAO: KJFK) is an international airport located in Jamaica, Queens, in south-eastern New York City. ...

Around 77 minutes after it had begun holding, New York Air Traffic Control asked the crew how long they could continue to hold, to which the first officer replied "...about five minutes." The First Officer then stated that their alternate was Boston, but since they had been holding for so long they would not be able to make it anymore; the controller then cleared the aircraft into runway 22L.

As Flight 52 flew the approach, they encountered wind shear at lower than 500 feet and the plane descended below the altitude needed to safely descend into the runway. Air traffic controllers had only informed the flight of wind shear at 1500 feet and not at lower altitude. This forced the crew to announce a missed approach, yet, at this point, the plane did not have enough fuel to make another approach. Wind shear is a difference in wind speed or direction between two points in the atmosphere. ...

The crew alerted the controller that they were low on fuel and in a subsequent transmission stated "We're running out of fuel, sir." The controller asked the crew to climb to which the first officer replied "No, sir, we're running out of fuel."

Moments later, the number four engine shut off, quickly followed by the other three. With the aircraft's power supply now drained, the cabin's lights shut off and the aircraft was plunged into darkness. Within seconds, the entire aircraft had lost all power, causing it to plunge into the small village of Cove Neck, New York in northern Long Island, 15 miles from the airport. Cove Neck is a village located in Nassau County, New York. ... Mercator projection of Long Island Long Island is an island in New York, USA. It has an area of 1,377 square miles (3567 km²) and a population of 7. ...

The aircraft struck and slid down a hill in the town, splitting into two pieces as it reached the bottom. The impact flung the cockpit into a nearby building. Due to the lack of jet fuel, the aircraft did not burst into flames, probably saving the lives of the 85 survivors. By the end of the ordeal, 73 passengers and crew lay dead, and another 85 had been injured.

Recovery

The recovery efforts for Flight 52 proved to be difficult since the aircraft had crashed in an area that was hard for emergency crews to reach. The weather conditions and the darkness of night made the search crews' task even more challenging. In addition, the cockpit had snapped off and was embedded in the side of an unoccupied house. the boy known as eoin mckenna was on this flight and he was the only child to survive without an injury A cockpit was a pit used for cockfighting, where owners would pit fighting birds against each other for the purpose of gambling. ...

Cause and Investigation

Th asse NTSB report on the accident determined the cause as pilot error due to the crew never declaring a fuel emergency to air traffic control as per IATA guidelines. The crew was reported to have asked for "priority" landing which, due to language differences in English and Spanish, can be interpreted as an emergency to the Spanish speaking pilots but not to the English speaking Air Traffic Controllers. This may have caused some confusion amongst the pilots when the ATC confirmed their priority status. Some NTSB board members felt that ATC was negligent in not providing arriving aircraft with the latest wind shear information which may have alerted the crew to possible difficulties in landing. Avianca Airlines threatened to sue the FAA for the actions of the air controllers, who they felt were negligent in misunderstanding the pilots reports. The FAA countered stating that the crew never declared a fuel emergency until the final minutes before the crash, and had never reported the amount of fuel they had left when asking for priority landing, making it impossible for air traffic controllers to give them correct priority status. It was also determined that the crew never attempted to divert to the alternate destination of Boston despite being aware they would be in a holding pattern for up to forty-five minutes, though this may have been due to the fact the pilots misunderstood their priority confirmation. After some deliberations, a settlement was reached where the FAA paid for 40% of the settlements with the passengers and their families; the rest was paid by Avianca.

Popular culture

• The TV series Air Crash Investigation has an episode dedicated to this crash.

Air Crash Investigation is a science television program on National Geographic Channel. ...

External links

• National Transportation Safety Board report on the accident (PDF)
• Air disaster.com pictures of the crash site