SANSA Flight 32
CASA C-212 Aviocar · Controlled flight into terrain, pilot error
From Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) to Palmar Sur Airport (PMZ)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 23 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 23
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
CASA C-212 Aviocar
- Aircraft type
- Casa C-212
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- TI-SAB
- Operator
- Sansa
- Onboard fatalities
- 23
- Route
- From Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO)To Palmar Sur Airport (PMZ)
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
- Personnel issues › Physical
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems
- Organizational issues › Management
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Not plotted · Not plotted: the Wikipedia article gives no coordinates, and its site names no town or airport that matches exactly.
From the Wikipedia article
SANSA Flight 32, a CASA C-212 Aviocar on its way to Palmar Sur Airport crashed into the Cerro Cedral, a mountain in Costa Rica after takeoff from Juan Santamaría International Airport in San Jose on January 15, 1990. All 20 passengers and 3 crew on board died in the crash.
Accident sequence
SANSA Flight 32 took off from Juan Santamaria International Airport at 08:25 local time and was cleared to climb to 5500 feet. Soon after the crew received another instruction to climb to 8500 feet. Midway through the climb, the aircraft flew into Cerro Cedral at 7200 feet, killing all on board.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
The investigation found that the main cause of the accident was the failure to comply with the proposed flight plan discussed with air traffic control, which would have led the aircraft to be flying under IMC conditions instead of VFR ones. Supporting factors include the lack of a Ground Proximity Warning System, pilot fatigue and a lack of a flight safety program in SANSA.
Text from the Wikipedia article “SANSA Flight 32” (revision 1360357708, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: SANSA Flight 32
- Article
- SANSA Flight 32
- Revision
- 1360357708 · 2026-06-21 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q7388664
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "SANSA Flight 32" (page 38063192, revision 1360357708)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- none
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- flight number in the article title
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.