Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 (November 1956)

1956 aviation accident Not to be confused with Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 (June 1956).

Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253
Accident
An L-749 Constellation similar to the accident aircraft
Date	November 27, 1956 (1956-11-27)
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain
Site	18 km (11.3 mls) ESE of Caracas Airport, Venezuela
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Lockheed L-749 Constellation
Aircraft name	Jose Marti
Operator	Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela
Registration	YV-C-AMA
Flight origin	New York-Idlewild International Airport (IDL/KIDL)
Destination	Caracas Airport (CCS/SVMI)
Occupants	25
Passengers	18
Crew	7
Fatalities	25
Survivors	0

Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Idlewild International Airport, New York to Caracas International Airport in Caracas, Venezuela. During the November 27, 1956 operation of the flight, by a Lockheed L-749 Constellation, registration YV-C-AMA and named Jose Marti, the aircraft, piloted by French captain Marcel Combalbert, crashed into a mountain near Caracas, Venezuela. All 25 passengers and crew on board were killed. This occurred just five months after another operation of this flight, with a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, ended with a fatal crash as well.

Crash

Flight 253 was flying through a rainstorm as it approached Caracas Airport. It was approximately 18 kilometers from the runway when the aircraft struck the southern ridge of Cerro El Ávila at an altitude of 6700 feet.

Ten Americans were among those killed in the crash. St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Charlie Peete, his wife, and their three small children were among the victims. Peete was traveling to Venezuela in order to play winter ball there.

Aftermath and cause

Cable cars were used in the recovery of bodies.

The probable cause of the crash was described thus: "The instrument flight training manuals show that the Linea Aeropostal Venezolana has approved a procedure for entering Maiquetia in semi-IFR conditions. This procedure consists (of) maintaining a minimum flight level of 10,000 feet as far as the station (Miq 292.5), then turning north over this point and continuing on a 360º heading for 4 minutes, followed by a standard let-down to 1,200 feet above sea level until contact is established, and a return to the aerodrome under VFR. It is obvious that the pilot-in-command did not fully comply with this procedure, and, after accumulating errors in estimating his speed, endeavoured to make a direct approach which proved fatal because his altitude at the time of his last report was insufficient to cross the Avila mountain range, against which the impact occurred."

References

"Ten Americans dead in crash". The Victoria Advocate. Victoria, TX. AP. 1956-11-28. p. 1. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
"Recover all bodies from Caracas wreck". Lewiston Evening Journal. Lewiston-Auburn, ME. AP. 1956-11-28. p. 9. Retrieved 2014-07-23.
Accident description for Lockheed L-749-79 Constellation YV-C-AMA Caracas Airport at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2014-07-23.

External links

Description at AirDisaster.com

v t e Lockheed Constellation family
Model numbers	L-049 L-051 L-084 L-104 L-139 L-149 L-249 L-349 L-449 L-549 L-649 L-749 L-849 L-949 L-1049 A B/F L-1149 L-1249 L-1449 L-1549 L-1649
Names	Constellation (I) Constellation (II) Constellation (III) Speedfreighter Starliner Super Constellation (I) Super Constellation (II)
Military designations	B-30 C-69 C-121 F EC-121 PO R7O/R7V -2 WV W2V
Accidents and incidents	TWA Flight 513 (1946) TWA Flight 6963 (1946) Pan Am Flight 121 (1947) Pan Am Flight 1-10 (1948) Air France Flight 009 (1949) TWA Flight 903 (1950) Air India Flight 245 (1950) Pan Am Flight 151 (1951) Air France Flight 152 (1953) Air France Flight 178 (1953) KLM Flight 633 (1954) Air India Flight 300 (1955) El Al Flight 402 (1955) LAV Flight 253 (June 1956) TWA Flight 2 (1956) LAV Flight 253 (November 1956) KLM Flight 844 (1957) KLM Flight 607-E (1958) Lufthansa Flight 502 (1959) TWA Flight 891 (1959) Avianca Flight 671 (1960) Air France Flight 343 (1960) TWA Flight 266 (1960) Air France Flight 406 (1961) TWA Flight 529 (1961) IA Flight 201/8 (1961) FTL Flight 739 (1962) Paradise Airlines Flight 901A (1964) EAL Flight 853 (1965) LANSA Flight 501 (1966)
Notable aircraft	Avion Pirata Columbine II Kashmir Princess
Topics	Operators Variants

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1956 (1956)
Feb 8 RAF multiple aircraft accidentFeb 18 Scottish Airlines Malta disasterFeb 20 Cairo DC-6 plane crashMar 10 US Air Force B-47 disappearanceApr 1 TWA Flight 400Apr 2 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2May 15 Convent CrashJun 20 Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253Jun 24 Kano Airport BOAC Argonaut crashJun 30 Grand Canyon mid-air collisionJul 9 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 304Jul 13 United States Air Force Flight 441/13Jul 24 RAF Lakenheath B-47 crashSep 22 Eindhoven Lockheed T-33 crashOct 1 London Heathrow Avro Vulcan crashOct 10 Atlantic R6D-1 disappearanceOct 16 Pan Am Flight 6Nov 7 Braathens SAFE Flight 253Nov 24 ČSA Flight 548Nov 24 Linee Aeree Italiane Flight 451Nov 27 Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253Dec 9 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810Dec 9 Anadyr Li-2 crash
1955 ◄ ► 1957

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1956 (1956)

Feb 8 RAF multiple aircraft accidentFeb 18 Scottish Airlines Malta disasterFeb 20 Cairo DC-6 plane crashMar 10 US Air Force B-47 disappearanceApr 1 TWA Flight 400Apr 2 Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2May 15 Convent CrashJun 20 Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253Jun 24 Kano Airport BOAC Argonaut crashJun 30 Grand Canyon mid-air collisionJul 9 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 304Jul 13 United States Air Force Flight 441/13Jul 24 RAF Lakenheath B-47 crashSep 22 Eindhoven Lockheed T-33 crashOct 1 London Heathrow Avro Vulcan crashOct 10 Atlantic R6D-1 disappearanceOct 16 Pan Am Flight 6Nov 7 Braathens SAFE Flight 253Nov 24 ČSA Flight 548Nov 24 Linee Aeree Italiane Flight 451Nov 27 Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253Dec 9 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810Dec 9 Anadyr Li-2 crash

1955 ◄ ► 1957

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