Date: 16 August 2005
Airline: West Caribbean Airways
Flight No.: 708
Aircraft: McDonnell Douglas MD-82
Location: Machiques, Venezuela
Fatalities: 160:160
The aircraft [HK-4374X] was on a passenger flight from Panama City, Panama to Fort de France on the Caribbean Island of Martinique when the crew reported trouble with one of the MD-80's two engines to Venezuelan air traffic control. They announced intentions to divert to Caracas. Shortly thereafter, they reported that their other engine had failed. Initial reports suggest that the aircraft then began a rapid descent, crashing into mountainous terrain some 20 miles from the Colombian border with Venezuela.
