Let 410 fatal accident in Honduras : 14 souls lost

Let 410 accident in Honduras

Angelman:

Good day!

Plz contact me via PM. We are interested to obtain other shots/angles that you may have of the aircraft and the area of impact.
Tks

Let 410 accident in Honduras

Vet27:

Another close-up of the throttle area from another Let 410. Photo via Nel Mejia.

Let 410 accident in Honduras

Vet 27:

Good day!!

I will fwd later on another option used with the fuel shut-off valves. No flaps indicators yet, just some dual tracks as seen on Algel’s pictures with something that appears heavy impact with the wheels before the aircraft entered the tree area.

Include is another picture of the cabin and the levers for your review. Via Nel Mejia.

p.s We learned today that the FDR has to be sent to the manufacture in Europe for translation.

They hadn’t secured the fuel cutoff valve on the affected engine, both are forward (open), but it is possible that another article was flung against them knocked it forward.

Is there any indication if they had selected gear and flaps yet?

Let 410 accident in Honduras

27 Vet:

The question about the levers came back fm a fellow pilot in Honduras. The outside levers are the fuel cut-off valves. The inside levers are the fuel Shut-off valves.

The fuel on board factor is still an open question. Next week we may hear about the ATC traffic at the time of the accident.. About a mile north fm the same spot a TAN SAHSA 727 also crashed c. Oct 1989 due to high winds in the area and other factors.

Tks again!

All for now

fah619 and angelman, here is something to consider: When an aircraft has an engine failure in the cruise, or in the hold, one crewmember flies the plane and the non-flying crewmember sorts the problem out and talks on the radio. (That’s why I like 3 crew planes) You stay in the holding pattern (in this case at 9000 feet) until the engine is secured, unless for some reason the plane cannot maintain height. It does not seem like this plane was all that heavy, the loadsheet, which should have been left at the departure airfield, will confirm that. The absence of a post crash fire suggests that there was not a heavy fuel load.

Another point is that the wind in the mountains can cause an awful lot of turbulence to complicate matters.

Let 410 accident in Honduras

27 Vet:

Good day!

Tks for info/data again.

The up/dwn position of the switches helps alot. We’ll send you a better resolution Tech-Data drawing of the feathering panel & feathering checklist as they become available.

Nick “Angel” published another angle of an engine/prop above for your review. It is the photo with the black object/spot in the center. The engine cowlings were painted black. We ‘ll send you later also profile views of HR-AUQ in better times.

All for now.

It looks like they secured the #1 engine from that picture. The manual feathering has been selected. The fuel valve is in the off position and the start switch is off. I can’t read the label on the other switch. Down is “on” in this aircraft. Up is “off”.

It is difficult to say from the pictures of the props if one was feathered. Need more angles.
Cheers

Let 410 accident in Honduras

27vet:

Morning!!

Tks for the clarification again.

Does this mean that according to the prop data panel picture and the throttles picture…that engine #1 was feathered and secured/deactivated?? Plz expand a bit on this subject.

Included this time is another angle of the cockpit area of the sister aircraft HR-AWC

Tks

I can see now in the picture above that it looks like they were securing the left engine. There is also a clue in this picture, note however that both throttles are forward. :

Let 410 accident in Honduras

27 Vet:

Good day!!

Tks for the fine info/data again.

Our colleague Angel captured the engine panel from a distance. We hope he sends us other angles/views or more pictures in due time.

In the meantime, The U.S investigating team which includes a G.E engine investigator captured the included picture also. It appears to them that one engine was out but this is not conclusive due to the fact that the accidente area/point of impact was not properly secured for the first 24 Hrs. We would like you to take a look at it carefully and let us hear your comments. We also have Tech-Data of engine shutdown and prop feathering modes in English for a later review for this particular aircraft.

We’ll find for you what the little levers in the green circles are. The aircraft was updated with a CVR in Honduras and is currently in custody of the Aeronautical Civilian Authorities at Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Photo via La Tribuna Newspaper.

More to come. Tks for all the help!

What are the two levers I have circled in the picture? I think I may know but I’m not sure. The reason I am asking is because whenever an engine is shut down in flight, if the checklists are followed, the engine will be secured. This means that the throttle of the affected engine will be at flight idle, the prop lever will be in the feather position, the fuel/condition lever in cutoff, ice vanes stowed(if applicable) generator as well as most system switches relating to that engine – off. Fuel crossfeed – on. There are not enough pictures to see all those things, but in the one picture, both of those levers are forward. Neither prop appears to have been feathered. Therefore if the copilot mentioned an engine problem, it may have been right before the accident and they did not have time to carry out the checklists.

Let 410 accident in Honduras

27 Vet:

Good day!!

Per your request the cockpit layout of the Let 410 HR-AUQ in better times!

You are certainly correct again… there was no fire or major explosion at the point of impact. HR_AUQ did circle the area and used some 20 minutes of fuel out of the required 40 minutes for the return flight. The actual amount of fuel loaded on board at San Pedro Sula for the 40 minutes flight is in the hands of the main investigating team at Tegucigalpa.

We certainly appreciate your inputs on this tragic accident. We feel that we owe to the crew, Pax and relatives an accurate account of what happened. Additionally, there are other LET-410s & pilots still flying all over Honduras!!

Tks for the time and attention again. Photo via Nel Mejia.

I was looking at the picture of the throttles, it looks like one condition lever just forward and to the right of the throttles is in the cutoff position. It would be useful to have the cockpit layout to confirm that. I will try find one. I have not flown the Let so I don’t know if the impact could have caused it to go into that position.
It is obvious that there was no post crash fire, which is unusual.
Wind in mountainous terrain creates a lot of turbulence. Combine that with an engine-out situation in cloud on that approach and you have a hands full situation.
The engines will have to be inspected to see if there was an engine failure. There may be clues in their conversation with ATC. The instruments must be examined to see whether they were set correctly for the approach. The Let should have a cockpit voice recorder.

Let 410 accident in Honduras

Angel:

Good day!!

Tks for posting the pictures. I’m sure they are going to be of help with the investigation. You are confirming that the aircraft 1st hit the ground and skidded into the tree area. Hence, the different bent angle of the props.

If you have more shots/angles of the propellers, engines/Throttles and the red switch covers (Engine Settings/Pic #3 2nd set)) plz let us know. If you have a picture of the hill itself from a distance that would be appreciated also.

Tks in advance!!

Throttle levers look they are fully forward. Impact forces or a last ditch attempt to climb out of trouble perhaps?

Here are some more pictures :

On the fist picture you can see the small the plane hit, this was the first visible mark of the plane hitting something on the ground.

After that there were not many marks on the ground so it went straight to the trees.

Hello Everyone,

I was able to go to the site the day after the crash, the coordinates are as follows : 13.95011, -87.25321.

Here are some images:

Let 410 accident in Honduras

27Vet:

FYI:

p.s The poss area of impact.

Lat 13′ 55′ 25 02 Degrees N

Lon 87″ 16′ 32 40 Degrees W

Let 410 accident in Honduras

27Vet:

Good day!

You are correct, they were flying VOR DME for Ryw 2. The picture included shows what they should had seen once out of the fog/clouds. Something drastic happened some 3.5 NM back south. Gust winds in their flight path area were reported at apprx 40 Kts. A preliminary report not yet confirmed mentioned that the FO (RIP) said before going west “that one engine was out.”. They are some questions also about the proper setting of the altimeter. Photo via www.pprune.org.

Both CVR and Toncontin ATC transmissions/recordings during the last minutes of flight have not been released to the public yet.

Tks for the info & inputs. We are getting into the perimeter of this tragic accident.