How Avianca Flight 52 Ran Out Of Fuel And Crashed | Mayday | On The Move

On 25 January 1990, Avianca Flight 52 is delayed numerous times by bad weather en route and is dangerously low on fuel as it attempts a landing at New York City. Wind shear forces the crew to abort the approach just one mile from the runway. They initiate a go-around, but are directed back into a holding pattern by air traffic controllers who are unaware of the low fuel situation. The Boeing 707 then runs out of fuel, causing it to crash on Long Island.

Along with interviews with aviation experts and eyewitnesses, Mayday reconstructs real-life air disasters to find out the events leading up to it.

#OnTheMove

[renegade-qr]

of all the episodes i have watched, this has been the most heartbreaking for me. For so long they circled up there in the sky yet they could have diverted them to another airport in time where they could have landed safely. Also the engineer was late to raise to raise alarm on the desperation of the fuel situation. May they rest in peace, i am so touched

[roberthuron]

That crash literally was in my back yard! I remember that jet going over my house, so low, you could count rivets! The local fire department was on scene, Locust Valley, and the rest of the Fifth Battalion, including Oyster Bay, Syosset, Glen Cove, and points East and West, including Suffolk County units! As you said 37 departments, covered that disaster! Also, the overworked Guardian Angels, who made sure there was no fire!! Thank you for filling in the gaps in my knowledge, as not all the data made the newspapers and other media!! Thank you 😇 😊!

[Amvndah]

It was all completely avoidable but ironically the one thing that kept so many ppl alive was because they were out of fuel completely, no explosion or fires.

[andyt]

I wouldn't be angry knowing my flight is canceled due to bad weather, I be happy as hell

[juliemanarin]

Here I blame the controllers...they knew they were running out of fuel. Also the first officer should have declared a Mayday. They have some nerve saying ATC was not culpable at all. That blows my mind.

[Unfiltered_from_The_Bronx]

I remember this day as if it were yesterday. My bestfriend who was 14 at the time and I 12 woke to news his mother had died on that aircraft. He was sitting on the front steps of our building crying uncontrollable. He sat alone when i went by and sat next to him. Unfortunately she was one of the mules for the Columbian cartel. It was the 1st and last time he ever spoke of his mother to me.

[sallygoodin]

Another issue I’ve noticed is pilots seem to be afraid to declare a emergency. Why do pilots fear this? Repercussions from the airline…ATC…FAA…the investigation…losing their jobs? This needs to be easier to do!

[goodrich]

As a recovering New Yorker, I can attest that the ATC staff was suffering from hubris and arrogance which unfortunately causes deaths with no accountability..

[tyago]

I have watched all episodes so many times and all of them are heartbreaking. But this one.... makes me specially nervous when i watch it. I have no other words... May you all rest in peace.
much love to all of you ! April 24th, 2023.

[FM_]

Avianca air crew: *describes a literal emergency*
ATC: nahhh he didn't say the magic word...

[jamesstreet]

There is no way I could have accepted ATC's casual response to "we are out of fuel." And then hearing "Stay calm and we'll have you on the ground in a minute." Then all the "maintain and hold altitude..." They should have said "Listen, shit ass, if we're not on a runway in 15 minutes were gonna be putting this thing into a neighborhood because we will be COMPLETELY OUT of fuel."

[archerbob]

The pilots shouldn't have been blamed at all, but its easy to blame someone who isn't here to defend themselves...

[chicagogyrl]

This is the best one so far, although very, very frustrating!!

[Tina]

It was caused by understaffed Air traffic control with too much work to do. The language barrier was a big problem, too.
No airline company wanted to just delay or cancel flights into the Northeast. It’s always all about the money.
I had to stop doing Emergency Medicine because I always had a terrible time getting out of the hospital after my ER shift if any of the patients were unstable or still undiagnosed at the end of my shift. I would always hang around until I was satisfied that the doctor relieving me understood the case, sometimes for an hour or more as new patients kept coming in.

[jennaolbermann]

This was an avoidable incident. These poor people. The ATCs seemed to ignore the issue of the low fuel and that does make them accountable.

[bone]

Air traffic controllers are at fault here. The bad weather at New York JFK should had been the first red flag to divert planes elsewhere.

[henrysantos]

I really love to watch this type of documentary,
Very well done no doubt,

[robinstewart]

🤣 When we're traveling down the highway and I say we have to find a gas station because we're running out of fuel, my wife has no problem understanding that - look for a gas station to stop at now. Strange the air traffic controllers in this case didn't have the same common sense.

[Rammstein.]

"Please remain calm and we'll have you on the ground shortly."

Oof, in hindsight an extremely poor choice of words... Thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families. ☹️

[rattbunnie]

God Bless the crew, passengers, and all loved ones❤ this is so heartbreaking