View source for TANS Perú Flight 204

{{Short description|2005 aviation accident}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox Aircraft occurrence
| occurrence_type = Accident
| name            = TANS Perú Flight 204
| image           = TANS Perú Boeing 737-200Adv OB-1809 LIM 2005-8-3.png
| alt             = 
| caption         = OB-1809-P, the aircraft involved, photographed 3 weeks before the crash
| date            = 23 August 2005
| type            = [[Controlled flight into terrain]]<ref name="ASN">{{ASN accident|id= 20050823-0|accessdate= 16 December 2011}}</ref> due to [[pilot error]] in bad [[weather]]
| site            = [[Pucallpa]], Peru
| coordinates     = {{coord|8|25|0|S|74|35|45|W|type:event|display=inline,title}}<ref name="Final report"/>{{rp|6}}
| occupants       = 98
| passengers      = 91
| crew            = 7
| fatalities      = 40
| injuries        = 58
| survivors       = 58
| aircraft_type   = [[Boeing 737-200 Advanced|Boeing 737-244 Advanced]]
| IATA            = TJ204
| ICAO            = ELV204
| callsign        = Aereos Selva 204
| tail_number     = OB-1809-P
| operator        = [[TANS Perú]]
| origin          = [[Jorge Chávez International Airport]]<br />[[Lima]], Peru
| stopover        = [[Captain Rolden International Airport]]<br />[[Pucallpa]], Peru
| destination     = [[Coronel FAP Francisco Secada Vignetta International Airport]]<br />[[Iquitos]], Peru
}}

'''TANS Perú Flight 204''' was a domestic scheduled [[Lima]]–[[Pucallpa]]–[[Iquitos]] passenger service, operated with a [[Boeing 737-200 Advanced]], that crashed on 23 August 2005 on approach to [[Pucallpa Airport]], {{convert|4|mi}} off the airfield, following an [[emergency landing]] attempt because of bad weather, killing 40 of the 98 passengers and crew aboard.

==Aircraft and crew==
The aircraft involved was a 1981-built Boeing 737-244 Advanced [[Aircraft registration|registered]] OB-1809, which had been [[Aircraft lease|lease]]d to TANS Perú from the South African lessor company [[Safair]] two months prior to the accident.<ref name="TANS confirms 57 survivors in 737-200 crash" /> With [[manufacturer's serial number]] 22580 and powered with two [[Pratt & Whitney JT8D|Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17A]] engines, the airframe had its maiden flight on 4 August 1981, and was originally delivered to [[South African Airways]].<ref name="ASN">{{ASN accident|id= 20050823-0|accessdate= 16 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-b737-22580.htm|title=TANS OB-1809-P aircraft history|website=Airfleets.net|publisher=Airfleets aviation|access-date=24 October 2011}}</ref> At the time of the accident, the aircraft had accumulated 49,865 flight hours and 45,262 cycles,<ref name="Final report"/> and was {{Age|1981|8|4|2005|8|23}} years old.

The captain was 45-year-old Octavio Perez Palma Garreta, who had 5,867 flight hours, including 3,763 hours on the Boeing 737. The first officer was 37-year-old Jorge Luis Pinto Panta, who had 4,755 flight hours, with 1,109 of them on the Boeing 737; 38-year-old Gonzalo Chirinos Delgado, a trainee pilot, was also on board. He had 2,700 flight hours, but only 61 of them on the Boeing 737.<ref name="TANS confirms 57 survivors in 737-200 crash" />{{Rp|7–10}}

==Description of the accident==
An unusual  [[cold front]] was developing in the vicinity of Pucallpa, minutes before the event took place, with [[cloud top]]s estimated to be {{convert|45000|ft}} high.<ref name="Final report"/> Instead of diverting to another airport, the crew initiated the approach to Pucallpa Airport with torrential rain, hail, and strong winds.<ref name="58 walk away from Peruvian plane crash"/> Some 10 minutes before the scheduled time for landing, the aircraft started rocking.<ref name="58 walk away from Peruvian plane crash"/> The aircraft flew through a [[hail]]storm for the last 32 seconds of its ill-fated flight when it was taken down by wind shear, hit tree tops and impacted a [[swamp]] located {{convert|3.8|nmi}} ahead of the [[runway]] threshold. The aircraft broke up as it crashed and burst into flames, leaving a path of debris and flaming fuel {{convert|100|ft}} wide and {{convert|0.8|nmi}} long.<ref name="Final report"/><ref name="58 walk away from Peruvian plane crash"/> The wreckage of the airplane was engulfed by the fire.<ref name="Final report"/>

With 91 passengers and seven [[Aircrew|crew member]]s on board, 35 passengers and five crew (including the three pilots) died in the accident.<ref name="Final report" />{{rp|7}} Non-[[Peru]]vian occupants of the aircraft included 11 [[Americans]], one Australian, one Colombian, and one [[Spain|Spaniard]]; Italians were also aboard, but the actual number of them depends upon the source consulted.<ref name="58 walk away from Peruvian plane crash" /><ref name="Plane crashes in Peruvian jungle">{{cite news|title=Plane crashes in Peruvian jungle |work=[[BBC News]] |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4178868.stm |date=24 August 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415220344/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4178868.stm |archive-date=15 April 2012 |access-date=11 May 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Most of the fatalities were recorded for passengers travelling in the front of the aircraft.<ref name="Final report" /> Fifty-eight people survived the accident, many of them suffering burns and broken limbs.<ref name="Final report"/><ref name="Plane crashes in Peruvian jungle"/>
[[File:Tansp204injurymap.png|thumb|Injury Map of TANS Peru Flight 204 - contrary to above Notes, the last sentence of 'Description of the accident' section as to passenger survivors states that 'many of them suffering serious injuries']]

==Investigation==
Investigation of the crash site was hindered by looters, who descended upon the crash and stole various elements to be sold for scrap.<ref name="Escape from flight 204" /> A {{US$|500|2005|link=yes}} reward did succeed in securing the return of the [[flight data recorder]].<ref name="Data recorder from Peru plane crash found" /> After 312 days of investigations,  no  technical malfunctions were reported.<ref name="Final report"/><ref name="ASN"/> The official cause of the accident was determined to be [[pilot error]] for not following standard procedures under adverse weather conditions.<ref name="Final report"/> The captain took control of the plane, but the trainee pilot did not immediately monitor the instruments; as a result, the crew did not notice the rapid descent in the few crucial seconds they had where they could have avoided danger. According to [[Aviation Safety Network]], the accident ranks among the more deadly ones that took place in 2005.<ref>{{cite web|title= Accident record for 2005|work= Aviation Safety Network|access-date= 11 May 2012|url= https://asn.flightsafety.org/database/year/2005}}</ref> It was also the second major crash involving a TANS Perú airplane in slightly over two years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/database/operators/4736|title=Accident record for TANS Perú|work=aviation-safety.net|publisher=Aviation Safety Network|access-date=16 December 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/world/americas/24iht-web.0824peru.html|title=At least 41 dead in Peruvian plane crash|date=24 August 2005|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=11 May 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906122910/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/24/world/americas/24iht-web.0824peru.html?_r=1|archive-date=6 September 2012|location=[[Lima]]|issn=0362-4331|quote=In January 2003, a TANS twin engine Fokker 28 turbojet, plowed into a 11,550-foot (3,465-meter) high mountain in Peru's northern jungle, killing all 42 passengers – including eight children – and four crew members aboard.}}</ref>

== In the media ==
Flight 204 has been the subject of a ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' story and an [[MSNBC]] documentary.<ref name="Escape from flight 204" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rd.com/content/jet-crash-in-the-jungle/|title=Jet Crash in the Jungle|last=Rosellini|first=Lynn|date=January 2007|website=[[Reader's Digest]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071117190121/http://www.rd.com/content/jet-crash-in-the-jungle/|archive-date=17 November 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Canadian TV series, ''[[Mayday (Canadian TV series)|Mayday]]'', has also produced an episode about the accident named "Blind Landing".<ref name="mayday" />

== See also ==
* [[List of aviation accidents and incidents involving CFIT]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Data recorder from Peru plane crash found">{{cite news|title= Data recorder from Peru plane crash found|newspaper= [[China Daily]]|date= 31 August 2005|url= http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-08/31/content_473921.htm|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140627121918/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-08/31/content_473921.htm|archive-date= 27 June 2014 }}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Escape from flight 204">{{cite news|title=Escape from flight 204 |first=Victoria |last=Corderi |work=NBC News |date=30 September 2005 |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9545549|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106170726/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9545549|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 January 2014}}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="Final report">{{cite web|title=OB-1809P Final Report |language=Spanish |url=http://www.mtc.gob.pe/portal/transportes/aereo/ciaa/2005/OB-1809P.pdf |access-date=16 December 2011 |date=July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120526012826if_/http://www.mtc.gob.pe/portal/transportes/aereo/ciaa/2005/OB-1809P.pdf |archive-date=26 May 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="mayday">{{cite web |title=Air Crash Investigation {{!}} Blind Landing |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2399103/ |website=imbd.com |publisher=[[IMDb]] |access-date=17 May 2024}}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="TANS confirms 57 survivors in 737-200 crash">{{cite news|title=TANS confirms 57 survivors in 737-200 crash |first=Kerry |last=Ezard |location=Washington D.C. |agency=[[Flight International]] |work=[[Flightglobal]] |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/tans-confirms-57-survivors-in-737-200-crash-201179/ |date=25 August 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003050148/http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/tans-confirms-57-survivors-in-737-200-crash-201179/ |archive-date=3 October 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<!-- + -->
<ref name="58 walk away from Peruvian plane crash">{{cite news|title=58 walk away from Peruvian plane crash |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-08-23-peru-crash_x.htm |date=25 August 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060428113326/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-08-23-peru-crash_x.htm |archive-date=28 April 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://cdn.www.gob.pe/uploads/document/file/425545/CIAA-ACCID-007-2005__OB1809P_-_23AUG05_.PDF Final report] {{inlang|es}}
<!--
<ref>{{cite news|title= At Least 37 Killed as Peruvian Jetliner Crashes|url= http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00915FF355A0C778EDDA10894DD404482|work= [[The New York Times]]|date= 24 August 2005|access-date= 16 December 2011}}</ref>
<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20120723173639/http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=08232005&reg=OB-1809&airline=TANS+Peru airdisaster.com]}}</ref>
-->
*{{cite news|title= In pictures: Peru plane crash|work= [[BBC News]]|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4179294.stm|date= 24 August 2005|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140627125307/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4179294.stm|archive-date= 27 June 2014}}&nbsp;
*{{cite news|title= Dozens Killed in Crash of Airliner in Peru Jungle|first= Carla|last= Salazar|agency= [[Associated Press]]|newspaper= [[The Washington Post]]|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/23/AR2005082301409_pf.html|date= 24 August 2005|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140627125759/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/23/AR2005082301409_pf.html|archive-date= 27 June 2014}}&nbsp;

{{Aviation incidents and accidents in 2005}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Peru}}
{{Portal bar|Peru|Aviation}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tans Peru Flight 204}}
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2005]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Peru]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737 Original]]
[[Category:2005 meteorology]]
[[Category:August 2005 in South America]]
[[Category:TANS Perú accidents and incidents|204]]