Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an ATR-72-212, registration CU-T1549, in use with Aero Caribbean since October 2006. It was delivered from the production line in 1995 to its first owner, Simmons Airlines and also with Continental Express as the second one. The Cuba-based company, Aero Caribbean, was the third owner and bought it in 2006. According to the manufacturer, the plane had accumulated almost 25,000 flight hours in more than 34,500 flights. Aero Caribbean is wholly owned by the government of Cuba.

Crash

The flight originated in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The aircraft departed Santiago de Cuba en route to Havana around 16:50 local time (20:50 UTC). It was the last flight out of Santiago de Cuba airport before it was closed because of the approach of Hurricane Tomas. At 17:42, the aircraft crashed near the town of Guasimal in Sancti Spíritus province, some 210 miles (340 km) southeast of Havana, after issuing an emergency call. Witnesses said the plane was "flying low and appeared unstable ... pouring out smoke and fire", before hearing an explosion.

Medical facilities in Guasimal were put on alert to prepare for emergency patients. However, by midnight they were told to stand down as no survivors were expected.

The accident was the deadliest involving the ATR 72 at the time it happened. It was also the third deadliest aircraft accident in Cuba, after the crash of a Cubana de Aviación Ilyushin Il-62M on 3 September 1989, which killed a total of 171 people, and the crash of an Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62M on 27 May 1977, which killed a total of 69 people.

Search and recovery

In order to allow access to the crash site, rescue workers had to use bulldozers to plow through thick vegetation. The aircraft was completely destroyed by the impact and resulting explosion, and all the victims' bodies were badly burned. Investigators believe that the passengers had no time to react because all bodies were found in their own seats, which helped investigators with identifications. The wreckage burned for hours after the crash. The recovered bodies were to be sent to Cuba's Institute of Legal Medicine for identification.

The day after the crash, on 5 November, rescue workers recovered the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. They were turned over to investigators for inspection and analysis.