‘Weight and Balance’ Errors Caused Deadly Cuba Air Crash

Rescuers work at the site where an airplane of Cuban airline “Cubana de Aviacion” crashed, in Havana, Cuba, on May 18, 2018. 

(Photo Courtesy: Xinhua/Joaquin Hernandez/IANS)

A plane crash that killed 112 people in Cuba a year ago was caused by an error by the crew in its calculation of the aircraft's weight and balance, a government investigation commission said.

"The most likely causes of the accident were the crew's actions and its mistakes in calculating the weight and balance, which led to the loss of control and collapse of the aircraft during takeoff," the commission said, according to a report by Cuba's Civil Aeronautics Institute.

Two months after the May 2018 crash, the Mexican company that owned the Boeing 737-200 jet said a team of international experts had found that the pilot's takeoff was too steep.

The Global Air plane, which had been leased to Cuba's national carrier Cubana de Aviacion, crashed close to Havana's Jose Marti airport shortly after takeoff and caught fire.

Only one passenger survived the crash, and is still recovering following lengthy medical treatment.

The investigation, in which the plane's black boxes were studied, was carried out by Cuba's transportation safety board, US manufacturer Boeing and Mexico's aviation authority.

(Published in an arrangement with PTI)