Creeperian Airlines Flight 1424

Creeperian Airlines Flight 1424

Burning wreckage of Flight 1424
Accident
Date	28 June 2020
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain due to air traffic control error
Site	Liberty City, Paleocacher
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Maroto Botín MB-13-10
Aircraft name	Jorge Eduardo Díaz y Molina
Operator	Creeperian Airlines
IATA flight No.	AC1424
ICAO flight No.	ACR1424
Call sign	CREEPERIANO 1424
Registration	C1318AC
Flight origin	Saint Romero I International Airport, San Salvador, Creeperopolis
Stopover	San Tiberio International Airport, Savotta, Salisford
Destination	Francis International Airport, Liberty City, Paleocacher
Occupants	283
Passengers	268
Crew	15
Fatalities	128
Injuries	155
Survivors	155

Creeperian Airlines Flight 1424 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Creeperian Airlines from San Salvador, Creeperopolis to Liberty City, Paleocacher via Savotta, Salisford which crashed into an 800-foot tall radio tower while on approach to Francis International Airport on 28 June 2020. The crash killed 128 of the 283 people on board the Maroto Botín MB-13-10.

An investigation conducted by the Paleocacherian Transportation Management Safety Committee (CSRCP) determined that the air traffic controller on duty had instructed the flight to follow a disused flight path resulting in the aircraft colliding with the radio tower. The air traffic controller, Cassidy McGuin, plead guilty to negligence and was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment, but she was assassinated by a family member of some of the victims after being sentenced.

Aircraft

A Maroto Botín MB-13-10, similar to the one involved in the accident

Creeperian Airlines Flight 1424 was operated by a Maroto Botín MB-13-10 (registration number: C1318AC). The aircraft was the 25th Maroto Botín MB-13 built and the airline acquired the aircraft in November 2006. Creeperian Airlines named the aircraft Jorge Eduardo Díaz y Molina after a Creeperian Civil War-era field marshal and former captain general of Helam from 1951 to 1967. The flight's IATA code was AC1424, its ICAO code was ACR1424, and its callsign was "CREEPERIANO 1424".

Passengers and crew

Occupants on board by nationality

Nationality	Pass.	Crew	Total
Paleocacher	163	—	163
Creeperopolis	90	15	105
Salisford	11	—	11
State of the Church	3	—	3
El Salvador	1	—	1
Total	268	15	283

Creeperian Airlines Flight 1424 was commanded by a primary flight crew and a relief flight crew. The primary flight crew consisted of 52-year-old Captain Alfonso Castro Ortega and 39-year-old First Officer José Durán Quiñónez; Castro Ortega had accumulated 18,000 flight hours, 2,000 of which were in the MB-13, while Durán Quiñónez had accumulated 9,300 flight hours, 1,700 of which were in the MB-13. The relief flight crew consisted of 46-year-old Captain Ramiro Juárez Serrano and 31-year-old First Officer Pedro Herrera Zínser; Juárez Serrano had accumulated 13,600 flight hours, 1,700 of which were in the MB-13, while Herrera Zínser had accumulated 7,400 flight hours, 950 of which were in the MB-13. The primary flight crew operated the first leg of the flight from San Salvador to Savotta, departure from Savotta, and arrival at Liberty City, while the relief flight crew operated the flight between Savotta and Liberty City. In addition to the flight crew, there were eleven flight attendants on board.

There were 268 passengers on board the flight, most of whom were Creepero-Paleocacherians returning to Paleocacher after touring Creeperopolis throughout June when several holidays and festivals are held. There were also some Creeperian and Salisfordian tourists and Paleocacherian nationals visiting Liberty City for the city's annual holiday celebrating the city's establishment. Notable individuals on board the flight included Creepero-Paleocacherian painter Luís Estrada Hidalgo and his wife were on board the flight, Creeperian songwriter Ernesto Tejón Valdéz, and a retired Ministry of Transportation inspector.

Investigation

The Paleocacherian Transportation Management Safety Committee released a preliminary report on July 1, 2020, identifying several factors and the primary cause of the accident.

1. Air traffic control was unusally overworked. Mr. McGuin was the only Air traffic controller on duty after his colleague in Approach control left with a fever and his supervisor didn't send anyone to replace her.
2. Air traffic control was inexperienced and ill-equipped to handle such a large load of aircraft. Mr. McGuin is only four and a half months on the job.
3. The air traffic controller sent Creeperian Airlines 1424 into a decommissioned flight path. The secondary holding pattern was shut down three months ago because the city has started constructing a housing development in the area, in addition to granting permits to several companies to build cell phone and radio towers on top of the hills south of the secondary holding pattern. Now when the primary holding pattern is full of planes air traffic control is supposed to direct overflow traffic to run the East Racetrack between the north and south ends of the bay east of the airport at an altitude of four thousand feet.
4. The Safety Director of the Chicajun International Airport was supposed to send NOTAMs to all airlines flying in and out of the airport regarding the changes. He has retained legal counsel and refused to answer further questions about the accident.
5. The main cause of the accident was a combination of pilot and air traffic control error. The air traffic controller sent the Creeperian Airlines flight down a closed and potentially hazardous route, one that brought them within half a mile of a one thousand foot hill and an eight hundred foot radio tower. The pilots in turning to bring their plane back north towards the airport from the far southern end of the pattern turned too widely bringing their plane over the hill and colliding with the obstacle.

Aftermath

Legal actions

With the cooperation of the air traffic controller Cassidy McGuin and the threat of his testimony, prosecutors were able to reach a plea agreement with the defendants.

• Cassidy McGuin, the air traffic controller who directed the aircraft into a disused holding pattern, pleaded guilty to reduced charges-4 years of imprisonment

• Martin McGuinness, air traffic control supervisor responsible for failing to properly supervise trainee air traffic controller and for failing to provide relief, 16 counts of negligent homicide- 16-32 years of imprisonment

• Dara Fitzpatrick, deputy director of airport operations for failing to send the NOTAM regarding the secondary holding pattern to airlines that use the airport 16 counts of negligent homicide- 16-32 years of imprisonment

• Patrice Farmon, airport director responsible for finding loopholes in aviation regulations to make secondary holding pattern unsafe, 16 counts of negligent homicide- 16-32 years

• Felix Gustaven, site manager for construction company that built radio tower, pled guilty to one count of gross negligence causing a serious incident for failing to install proper warning lighting on the tower- 2 years imprisonment

The Chicajun International Airport will pay restitution to the victims in the amount of 250,000 selkies per death, 150,000 selkies for a serious injury, 100,000 selkies for a moderate injury, 75,000 selkies for minor injuries, and 25,000 selkies for uninjured passengers. The airport will cease private operations and be overseen by the federal government from now on.

The Paleocacherian Department of Infrastructure will be re-organized and new legislation will be drafted regarding aviation safety.

As Cassidy McGuin left the courthouse while being followed by camera crews, Maximiliano Rodrigo Velázquez y Espiga, a Creepero-Paleocacherian who lost his wife and daughter in the crash of Creeperian Airlines 424 and a member of Mara Salvatrucha, approached and shot McGuin at close range in the abdomen with a Figueroa-1 Tipo-1970 small pistol. He yelled "¡Que te vas’al Inferno con el Diablo por'todo eternidad, puto idiota!" Velázquez Espiga is immediately tackled by a police officer. As he was dragged away, he continued to scream about his family in Creeperian. McGuin was rushed to the closest hospital but died in the ambulance. Maximiliano Velázquez Espiga was arrested and held without bail on a charge of first degree premeditated murder. His gun and fingerprints were run through the system to try and connect him to other crimes. The remaining convicted defendants were quickly taken to secure detention facilities for their own safety.