Honduran authorities are still frantically searching for the black box of the Lanhsa Airlines small plane that crashed and killed 12 people.
The flight recorder is believed to be inside the Jetstream 32 that is resting 152 feet below on Caribbean Sea floor off the coast of Roatán Island in the department of Islas de Bahía.
The recovery of the black box would be crucial to determine what caused the plane to plunge into the sea just minutes after it took off from Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport on Monday night.
‘The control tower received no indication from the pilot that he had any problems before the accident, but everything will be revealed from the recording,’ Honduran Civil Aeronautics Agency deputy director, Jorge Corrales, told La Prensa newspaper on Thursday.
Corrales acknowledged that there has been a delay in lifting the plane out of the sea because they want to ensure that they don’t miss any parts that may interfere with a complete investigation.
‘It must be removed to analyze the wings, turbines and fuselage because it could give an indication of what happened,’ Corrales said.
Lanhsa Airlines Flight 018 attempted to take off from Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport to Golosón International Airport in La Ceiba, located in the mainland department of Atlántida.
However, the aircraft ended up overshooting the runway before plunging into the sea.
Honduran authorities have been searching for the black box of the Lahnsa Airlines Jetstream 32 that crashed in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of the Roatán Island on Monday. Authorities confirmed 12 people died, including the pilot and co-pilot
Pictured: The Lahnsa Airlines Jetstream 32 that crashed Monday night in Roatán Island, Honduras. Honduran Civil Aeronautics Agency deputy director, Jorge Corrales, told La Prensa newspaper that they have been taking their time in removing the wrecked plane because they want to ensure all parts are in place to conduct a full investigation
Authorities were able to rescue five passengers from the plane wreckage – two fishermen were the first on the scene and helped save the lives of four people
The plane’s pilot, Luis Araya, the co-pilot, Francisco Lagos, and 10 passengers were killed. Five passengers were rescued from the wreckage before being rushed to local hospitals.
Santos Guardiola Fire Department captain Franklin Borjas told reporters that the crash may have been caused by a failure in the aircraft’s motor.
A team of four experts with British Aerospace, the company that built the plane in 1989, arrived from Great Britain on Honduras on Thursday night.
‘It’s now an international standard that those who manufacture these aircraft must be on-site at the scene of an accident involving them to investigate the causes,’ Corrales said.
The Ministry of Defense’s Commission of Accidents and Incidents is leading the investigation.
First responders carried an injured man out of the Caribbean Sea to shore after the plane crash in Roatán Island, Honduras on Monday
Lahnsa Airlines Flight 018 pilot, Luis Araya, told friends he was worried about the Jetstream 32’s condition due to an issue with the small jet’s hydraulic system after completing a flight between Roatán and the mainland city of Puerto Lempira on Monday prior to the deadly crash
Fishermen Aldair Alemán and a friend were in a vessel when the Lahnsa Airlines Jetstream-32 crashed off the coast of Roatán Island. They helped to rescue four of the five passengers who survived
Corrales said the British Aerospace experts ‘will only be a support to investigate the part that corresponds to them regarding the technical part of the aircraft, which corresponds to the manufacturer.’
Lahnsa Airlines’ attorney, Rúben Navas, told HRN Radio that Jetstream 32 passed the series of inspections that took place from December 11 to 14, 2023 and that it received its operation certificate in January 2024.
‘Airlines cannot operate without complying with current regulations,’ Navas said. ‘We have undergone all the required certifications and are ready to present the corresponding maintenance manuals and records.’
Araya had previously told those closest to him that he worried about the aircraft’s conditions before the fatal crash.
The pilot had been concerned about an issue with the small jet’s hydraulic system after completing a flight between Roatán and the mainland city of Puerto Lempira earlier that day.
‘He was very concerned about the conditions at Lanhsa Airlines,’ Araya’s friend, Fausto Molina, told La Prensa.
‘Under certain conditions he refused to fly. These planes were not properly conditioned.’
