Boeing 707-321B accident near Cove Neck, New York, January 26, 1990
On January 26, 1990 at about 2:34 am local time, a Boeing 707-321B, registered HK201, was destroyed in an accident near Cove Neck, New York (Jfk Intl airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under foreign airline rules (Part 129). 73 people were killed, 81 people were seriously injured and 4 people had minor injuries. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE FAILURE OF THE FLIGHTCREW TO ADEQUATELY MANAGE THE AIRPLANE'S FUEL LOAD, AND THEIR FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE AN EMERGENCY FUEL SITUATION TO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL BEFORE FUEL EXHAUSTION OCCURRED. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS THE FLIGHTCREW'S FAILURE TO USE AN AIRLINE OPERATIONAL CONTROL DISPATCH SYSTEM TO ASSIST THEM DURING THE INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT INTO A HIGH-DENSITY AIRPORT IN POOR WEATHER. ALSO CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS INADEQUATE TRAFFIC FLOW MANAGEMENT BY THE FAA AND THE LACK OF STANDARDIZED UNDERSTANDABLE TERMINOLOGY FOR PILOTS AND CONTROLLERS FOR MINIMUM AND EMERGENCY FUEL STATES. THE SAFETY BOARD ALSO DETERMINES THAT WINDSHEAR, CREW FATIGUE AND STRESS WERE FACTORS THAT LED TO THE UNSUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE FIRST APPROACH AND THUS CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 26, 1990 · about 2:34 am local time
- Place
- Cove Neck, New York · Jfk Intl
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 73 people were killed, 81 people were seriously injured and 4 people had minor injuries.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Boeing 707-321B · all 707-321Bs on the register
- Registration
- HK201 · no longer on the register · serial 19276
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ON 1/25/90 AT APRX 2134 EST, AVIANCA AIRLINES FLT 052 (AVA052), A BOEING 707-321B WITH COLOMBIAN REGISTRATION HK-2016, CRASHED IN A WOODED RESIDENTIAL AREA IN COVE NECK, LONG ISLAND, NY. AVA052 WAS A SCHEDULED INTL PSGR FLT FM BOGOTA, COLOMBIA, TO JOHN F KENNEDY INTL ARPT, NY, WITH AN INTERMEDIATE STOP AT JOSE MARIA CORDOVA ARPT, NEAR MEDELLIN, COLUMBIA. OF THE 158 PERSONS ABOARD, 73 WERE FATALLY INJURED. BECAUSE OF POOR WX CONDS IN THE NORTHEASTERN PART OF THE UNITED STATES, THE FLIGHTCREW WAS PLACED IN HOLDING 3 TIMES BY ATC FOR A TOTAL OF ABOUT 1 HR & 17 MIN. DRG THE 3RD PERIOD OF HOLDING, THE FLIGHTCREW RPRTD THAT THE ACFT COULD NOT HOLD LONGER THAN 5 MIN, THAT IT WAS RUNNING OUT OF FUEL, AND THAT IT COULD NOT REACH ITS ALTERNATE ARPT, BOSTON-LOGAN INTL. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE FLIGHTCREW EXECUTED A MISSED APCH TO JOHN F KENNEDY INTL ARPT. WHILE TRYING TO RTRN TO THE ARPT, THE ACFT EXPERIENCED A LOSS OF POWER TO ALL 4 ENGS & CRASHED APRX 16 MI FROM THE ARPT. (SEE NTSB/AAR-91/04 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION)
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, foreign licence
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 16,787 hours in all; 1,534 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 61,196 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, November 16, 1989; 361 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 335,000 lb
- Seats: 158
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W JT3D-3B (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MEO Medeln,Columbia OF
- Destination: JFK Jamacia NY
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 22L, 11,351 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 190° at 20 knots
- Sky: overcast at 300 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:00 pm from JFK, 15 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 8 | 1 | ||
| Passengers | 65 | 80 | 4 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.