The entire crew was from Mexico, I believe.
A comment on this site mentioned:
Cubana already had some Global 732 on lease 6 or 8 years ago (don't remember exactly) and I happened to fly them a couple of times between SCU and HAV. From the passenger point of view they looked horrible, at in terms of the interior. It's obviously one of the cheapest leasing companies and sadly one of the few that Cubana can afford.
No one will know for sure unless Boeing is allowed to examine the wreckage.
Our FAA does accident investigation all over the world, due to their expertise, even if no Americans are involved.
Does anyone know if Cuba would allow them in country to help with the investigation? I expect not.
Raoul will blame Trump for this, not the shoddy maintenance of communist Cuba.
One picture shows what looks to be an engine laying on railroad tracks.
Maybe it separated during takeoff and the plane rolled over and down?
It’s happened before.
While this was an older airframe, air worthiness depends on maintenance.
...
They also need the aircraft configured correctly for takeoff. I remember a similar crash where the spoilers or something like that weren’t set correctly and the warning system had the fuse pulled. It couldn’t get airborne and crashed off the centerline like this one did.
This is the one I was trying to recall:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanair_Flight_5022#Final_report
Maybe take a bus for next trip?
One of the oldest airframes still being used in passenger service. Over the last 10-15 years, new JT8D spare parts for the engines have dried up and there is just repaired junk (the OEM abandoned these engines 20 years ago, both for new parts and for OEM sanctioned repairs).
If one of the engines “just stopped working” on takeoff, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.
I wouldn’t fly on a 732 in 2018. Not a Chance.
I’ve seen some 25-30 year old commercial jets in excellent condition and some that you wonder how they are still flying.
“The 737-200 had its maiden flight on August 8, 1967. It was certified by the FAA on December 21, 1967, and the inaugural flight for United was on April 28, 1968, from Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan.[26] The lengthened -200 was widely preferred over the -100 by airlines.”
This is a very, very old aircraft. I think current 737’s are at -800 or -900~!