Sat, Dec 18, 2004
Vice-President blames accident on lack of training, pilot
error
A Peruvian Air Force SU-22 two-seat fighter jet of the FAP 11th
Air Group crashed Friday on a hill overlooking a residential
district in the city of Lurin, close to the PanAmerican Highway,
killing both crew members. Lurin is located some 20 miles from Lima
along the Pacific Ocean coast. No injuries or deaths were reported
on the ground, even though pieces of the aircraft struck some
homes.
The accident took place at approximately 1500 on Friday during a
training exercise in which three aircraft were practicing a
formation routine for an FAP ceremony. Eyewitnesses to the crash
reported that everything seemed to be fine until one of the
aircraft slammed into a hill some meters from a number of homes in
Lurin. The witnesses reported that the pilot seemed to manoeuver
the aircraft in such a way as to avoid the homes, while attempting
to make an emergency landing in a dry river bed. Parts of the
aircraft were found in at least seven homes, whose stunned
residents were spared any injuries.
"It's amazing it wasn't an even worse disaster because the plane
exploded only a few meters from the population," Lurin Councilman
Gustavo Espinosa told Radioprogramas radio.
The crew members of the aircraft were identified as FAP
Commander Winston San Martin Canales and FAP Captain Mauricio Perez
Velarde, according to a FAP press release.
The Peruvian Second Vice President, David Waisman, speculated
that the most likely cause of the crash was pilot error and the
lack of training of the crew. In a statement to CPN Radio, Waisman
stated that he had obtained a preliminary report of the accident
which stated that the accident took place because of the crew's
inability to log more training hours on the aircraft.
Waisman reminded the public of the difficulties the Peruvian Air
Force faces due to a lack of funding. “Pilots must, generally
speaking, train a minimum number of hours each month. There are
pilots, however, that do not fly a single hour for months at a
time. I believe this is the cause of the tragic accident that has
taken place," said Waisman.
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