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The 22 last October they were fulfilled 25 years of unfortunate plane crash of the North American cargo company Millon Air in Manta, Ecuador. Foto por Werner Fischdick/Aviation Safety
Today we will remember an event that occurred in the city of Manta ago 25 years, that possibly few of you remember or even, maybe they never heard before.
after the 22:45 tuesday hours 22 October 1996 a boeing 707 fell on the La Dolorosa neighborhood, generating the destruction of houses, churches and the unfortunate death of 27 total people.
Millon Air flight accident in Manta
of this accident, there is not much information online that represents the causes of it, but American media of the time such as JOC.com reports the following:
Millon Air, the Miami-based operator of the cargo plane that crashed in Ecuador at the cost of dozens of lives on Wednesday, has a history of maintenance violations.
Has paid $49,000 in fines and other penalties to the Federal Aviation Administration from 1984 and had another fatal accident last year, according to the agency. The FAA is investigating the airline for two additional unspecified maintenance violations..
The company has also received warning letters about violations of drug testing regulations every year since 1994, for a total of nine cards. Five of them were received only in 1996.
the boeing 707 involved in Wednesday's accident burst into flames and crashed into a church steeple shortly after taking off from the port city of Manta in southeastern Ecuador..
All four crew members died..
At least 30 people on the ground also died and others 48 were hospitalized.
The plane was carrying frozen fish.
The aircraft of 29 years involved in the accident had numerous service problems, according to FAA documents, including corrosion and cracked parts, loose and leaky. On 1995, a Pratt engine & Whitney JT3D phallus 35 minutes after takeoff.
CREW CONTINUED
The crew continued to the destination before receiving maintenance attention.
The aircraft originally belonged to American Airlines and entered service on 27 October 1967.
Millon has operated the aircraft since October 1989.
in april 1995, one of Millon's DC-8 freighters crashed in Guatemala City, killing six people and wounding two.
PROBLEMS
in february this year, one of the boeing 707 of the airline landed at Miami International Airport with the nose gear still raised after a hydraulic pressure valve failed.
The day before that accident, Millon reported troubleshooting hydraulic lines and replacing broken connectors.
The carrier had another minor accident in Dallas Fort Worth in 1987, when it collided with another plane while taxiing to park.
Ecuador's civil aviation authority is investigating the accident.
INVESTIGATORS TO THE SITE
A three-member team from the US National Transportation Safety Board. He drove to the crash site on Wednesday afternoon.
They were accompanied by an FAA inspector and representatives from Boeing and Pratt & Whitney.
In the worst recent accident in Ecuador, A DC-8 cargo plane crashed in Quito on 22 September 1984, killing the 75 people.
Another particularity of this accident is the compensation process, which was fulfilled by the insurer of Million Air in its entirety, but that until 22 October 2021 were left $250 thousand dollars to be claimed by relatives of one of the victims on the ground of the accident.
Final report
A final report was sought to determine the causes of the accident, but so far this information is only available thanks to Aviation Safety:
| Date: | Tuesday 22 october 1996 |
| Hour: | ca 22:40 |
| Type: |  Boeing 707-323C |
| Operator: | Millon Air |
| Registration: | N751MA |
| Serial number: | 19582/639 |
| Year of construction: | 1967 |
| engines: | 4 Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B (HK) |
| Crew: | fatalities: 3 / occupants: 3 |
| passengers: | fatalities: 1 / occupants: 1 |
| Total: | fatalities: 4 / occupants: 4 |
| casualties on land: | fatalities: 23 |
| Aircraft Damage: | Total |
| Impact: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | SW of Manta Airport (GUY) ( Ecuador) |
| Phase: | On Route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Load |
| Departure airport: | Manta Airport (MEC / SEMT), Ecuador |
| Arrival airport: | Miami International Airport, FL (MIA/KMIA), United States of America |
Description: A Millon Air cargo flight, a Boeing 707-323C carrying frozen fish and flowers, crashed after taking off from Eloy Alfaro airport., Manta, Ecuador. The plane tore off the roofs of houses in the Dolorosa neighborhood and crashed into a restaurant in flames.. Local officials claim an engine was on fire. The plane was destroyed. The pilot in command of airline transportation, the first officer, the flight engineer, one passenger and one 30 people on the ground were fatally injured. About 50 people on the ground suffered serious injuries.
Do you remember this accident or do you have more information about it?
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Recently I came across the surprise that the FDR of the plane did not work. I added the info to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unrecovered_and_unusable_flight_recorders
Thank you Miguel for your contribution and collaboration..
hello, I would like to know if they could identify the girl from 11 years since it was found?
from what i found out, Never.
Let us remember that this same plane, The "Vanessa" had an emergency landing due to landing gear failure in Miami a few months before falling in Manta.
here the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_8pS36nSyc
Thanks for the input!
I remember this accident very well, I was a university student and I learned about him as breaking news on Ecuavisa's defunct "Telemundo" news program.. An anecdote of this tragedy is that the image of the Virgin Mary at the entrance of the destroyed church remained intact., only blackened by smoke. The locals attributed it to a miracle. Another anecdote is that no one claimed insurance compensation for a person who died on the spot. In addition, on the ground of the place there were fish according to press photos.
Hi Javier, thanks for your contribution. Precisely, the day they were fulfilled 25 years, deadline for claiming compensation, no one did.
really very good story thanks for telling us this accident happened that 12 Years before I was born and I had no idea it existed., very good post and follow like this
Thanks Joaquin!
Thank you Nicholas for this comprehensive post., I've never really heard of this accident, that 707 it was all a case.
Thank you Enzo for your comment.!
Excellent reminder, like all your posts. Ahead..!!!!
Thank you very much Santiago.