Pilot Error Likely In Dominican Crash

Fri., Nov. 8, 1996

Compiled From Wire Services

Pilot error probably caused a chartered Boeing 757 to crash into the Atlantic Ocean in February, killing all 189 people aboard, Dominican aviation authorities said Thursday.

Most of the victims were German tourists returning to Frankfurt and Berlin. Also killed were 11 Turkish crew members, seven Poles and two Dominican flight attendants.

Leased by Alas Nacionales, a small Dominican carrier, the plane crashed from 7,300 feet on Feb. 6, six minutes after taking off from Puerto Plata, a popular resort on the north coast of the Dominican Republic.

In a final report, the Dominican civil aviation agency said the crew of the Birgenair plane didn’t recognize the jet was in danger of stalling when the steering column began shaking - warning there is danger of a stall.

The crew also was confused about different airspeed readings, including a false reading that the plane was flying too fast, the report said.

The following fields overflowed: DATELINE = SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

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Pilot Error Likely In Dominican Crash

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