Aerosucre Flight 157
Boeing 727-2J0F · Crashed following runway overrun on takeoff and loss of control
From German Olano Airport (PCR) to El Dorado International Airport (BOG)
Event
- NTSB case
- DCA17WA044
- 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
- InvestigationHow far the investigation had got when the record was published: preliminary, ongoing, final or completed. Unknown where the source does not say. Glossary
- Unknown · led by another country; figures from NTSB notifications
- Event fatalities
- 5 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- 0
- Occupants
- 6
- Survivors
- 1
- 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
- 1
- 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
- WeatherVisual meteorological conditions (VMC): good enough to fly by looking outside. Instrument conditions (IMC): cloud or low visibility, flying by instruments. Glossary
- Not recorded
Boeing 727-2J0F
- Flight
- 6C157
- Aircraft type
- Boeing 727
- Category
- Airplane
- 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
- HK-4544
- Operator
- Aerosucre
- Onboard fatalities
- 5
- Route
- From German Olano Airport (PCR)To El Dorado International Airport (BOG)
- Aircraft age
- Not recorded
- Flight rulesThe regulations the flight operated under: in the US, Part 91 (general aviation), Part 121 (airlines), Part 135 (air taxi and commuter) and others; for flights abroad, the NTSB's coarser commercial or non-commercial code. Glossary
- Not recorded
- Phase of flightThe stage of the flight when things started to go wrong: standing, taxi, takeoff, initial climb, en route, maneuvering, approach or landing. Glossary
- Takeoff
- Defining eventThe single coded event the NTSB judges best describes what happened (records from 2008 on). Older records name the first occurrence in the sequence instead. Glossary
- Runway excursion
- DamageDestroyed: beyond practical repair. Substantial: damage that affects the structure, performance or handling and normally needs major repair. Minor: less than that. Glossary
- Destroyed
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Task performance
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena
- Organizational issues › Management
- Organizational issues › Support/oversight/monitoring
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
Aerosucre Flight 157 was a domestic cargo flight from Germán Olano Airport in Puerto Carreño, Colombia, to El Dorado International Airport, Bogotá. On 20 December 2016, the Boeing 727-2J0F operating the route overran the runway during takeoff, striking the perimeter fence and other obstacles before becoming airborne, ultimately losing control and crashing 4 nmi from the airport. Of the six people on board, only one survived, with severe injuries.
The subsequent investigation found that a number of factors—including a takeoff weight in excess of the maximum permissible, an incorrect takeoff technique, and a slight tailwind—resulted in the failure of the aircraft to become airborne within the available runway length.
Accident
The Boeing 727 arrived at Puerto Carreño on the day of the accident at 14:48 local time, after a cargo flight from Bogotá. The crew unloaded 20,423 lb of cargo. Although the weight and balance manifest of the accident flight was not found, investigators presumed that slightly less than 20,000 lb of cargo distributed on nine pallets was loaded for the return to Bogotá. The 727 then taxied onto Runway 25 threshold; the crew set the flaps at 30°, the plane was trimmed for takeoff, and the plane started its takeoff run at 17:18.
The 727 used all of the 1800 m runway, but was still not airborne. It traveled another 95 m over grass and struck a perimeter fence. It then crossed a road on the airport's perimeter, where numerous motorcyclists and pedestrians narrowly avoided being hit by the aircraft. After crossing the road, the 727 then collided with a shed, then a tree, before finally becoming airborne. The impact detached the right main landing gear from the aircraft, damaged the inboard right flap, caused engine 3 to lose power, and damaged one hydraulic system, causing it to leak. The aircraft achieved an altitude of 790 ft, entered a slight right-hand descending turn, which completed a near 270° arc, and then impacted flat terrain, bursting into flames. The accident was captured on video by some of the motorcyclists on the perimeter road the aircraft crossed.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
The Colombian government's Air Accident Investigation Group (Grupo de Investigación de Accidentes Aéreos; GRIAA) concluded that three factors extended the aircraft's takeoff run by 380 m, resulting in a runway excursion that eventually led to the crash:
The crew incorrectly calculated a rotation speed that was 5 kn higher than necessary.
The chosen takeoff runway was subject to a 4 kn tailwind.
The pilot rotated the aircraft too slowly, at about 1°/sec instead of 2 to 3°/sec.
Furthermore, although initial calculations suggested the aircraft was operating within its weight limits, the investigators believe, based on the takeoff speeds used by the crew, that the aircraft was actually almost a tonne above its maximum permissible takeoff weight of 74.7 t.
The investigation also determined that, following the loss of pressure in both main hydraulic systems caused by the impact with ground structures, the crew did not activate the standby hydraulic system, which would have enabled them to maintain control of the aircraft.
The operator, Aerosucre, was found in breach of regulations, since Puerto Carreño airport was not approved for operations with the Boeing 727-200, and the Colombian civil aviation authority allowed this breach to continue for years through a lack of supervision.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Aerosucre Flight 157” (revision 1362842059, 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
NTSB narrative
The Accident Investigation Group (AIG) of Colombia has notified the NTSB of an accident involving a Boeing 727 airplane that occurred on December 20, 2016. The NTSB has appointed a U.S. Accredited Representative to assist the AIG of Colombia's investigation under the provisions of ICAO Annex 13 as the State of Manufacturer and Design of the airplane.All investigative information will be released by the AIG of Colombia.
Verbatim NTSB factual narrative from the NTSB dataset
Sources
Wikipedia article: Aerosucre Flight 157
- Article
- Aerosucre Flight 157
- Revision
- 1362842059 · 2026-07-06 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q28043715
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
NTSB record DCA17WA044
- Event ID
- 20161221X73450
- Case number
- DCA17WA044
- Dataset
- full-current
- Source SHA-256
- 5cf380f0061817c0331a6b2d8cc7e0ee3a79bea469a1001dc5c10e56f35f5ab3
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "Aerosucre Flight 157" (page 52649649, revision 1362842059); merged with NTSB case DCA17WA044 (events / aircraft)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia: Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports); gaps and aircraft details from NTSB record DCA17WA044
- Operation
- airline flight number in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Reviewed (2026-09-19): Aerocivil GRIAA final report COL-16-40-GIA (HK-4544), section 1.2, hosted by ASN, https://asn.flightsafety.org/reports/2016/20161220_B722_HK-4544.pdf
- Ground fatalities
- Reviewed (2026-09-19): Aerocivil GRIAA final report COL-16-40-GIA (HK-4544), section 1.2, hosted by ASN, https://asn.flightsafety.org/reports/2016/20161220_B722_HK-4544.pdf
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (3)
- One occurrence in two sources, merged: the Wikipedia article "Aerosucre Flight 157" and NTSB case DCA17WA044, matched by the same aircraft registration and date. For this event outside the United States Wikipedia's values are used where the two differ; each value names its source.
- Death toll settled: the NTSB record (DCA17WA044) gives 3 and the Wikipedia article 5; Aerocivil GRIAA final report COL-16-40-GIA (HK-4544), section 1.2, hosted by ASN gives 5. 4 crew died instantly. Of 2 seriously injured survivors, 1 (a non-crew occupant) died later in hospital in Puerto Carreño, giving 5 fatal (4 crew + 1 occupant). NTSB's 3 is a preliminary or notification undercount.
- No bulk values were replaced by the NTSB case API.