British tourists die as plane crashes on Cuba trip

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A poor safety record is inevitable, given the US trade sanctions

'It didn't seem unsafe or terrifying'

Four British tourists were among 16 people killed when a Soviet-made biplane crashed in central Cuba as they returned from a day trip.

Witnesses saw a wing of the Antonov AN-2 snap off before it ploughed into a reservoir at Guaracabuya, a rural area in Villa Clara province that was a pre-revolutionary stronghold for Che Guevara.

The weather at the time was fine and there was no immediate explanation for the crash. However the Antonov had 14 passengers and two crew aboard, two more people than its recommended maximum capacity. Experts said yesterday that would have made it hard to respond to any difficulties encountered in flight.

The group was returning from the south coast port of Cienfuegos to Cayo Coco, an upmarket beach resort known for its all-inclusive hotels, wildlife reserve and scuba diving.

The Britons, Shaun Lawrence, 38, and his wife Angela, 36, from Doncaster, and Lorrellei Ross, 33, and Paul Fuller, 38, from Sheerness in Kent, were all registered at the Hotel Melia, which markets itself as a perfect destination for honeymooners.

They had booked a day trip from the resort with Aerotaxi, a small state-owned airline that uses the AN-2s because their short take-off and landing capabilities mean they can use airfields normally accessible only to light aircraft.

After leaving Cienfuegos, the Antonov cleared a small mountainous region before it came down about halfway into the hour-long flight, crashing at 4.30pm local time on Thursday. Some reports suggested the pilot appeared to be attempting to crash-land near the reservoir.

Cuban authorities released a passenger list yesterday, naming two Germans, six Canadians (including two children) and four Cubans along with the British victims. The Cubans were understood to be the pilot, crew and tour leader.

Debris from the plane was scattered around farms surrounding the man-made reservoir yesterday, raising the possibility the plane was falling apart as it went down.

One farmer, Ramon Sampiero, 65, said he was feeding his pigs when he saw the plane start to lower in the sky over his agricultural community of 7,000.

"I saw it fly very low, but did not hear it crash," he said.

Another witness, Ramona Montera, said: "It looked like it was doing manoeuvres in the sky ... then I saw the wing come off and the plane fell. Then we heard a boom.

"I went over on my bicycle ... I saw a dead woman and a leg floating in the water."

Santacruz Santana, 71, said she heard a loud noise and ran outside to find a large piece of blue metal sitting in the middle of her flower garden.

More than 1,000 Cuban officials from the police, firefighters, military and the Communist Party surrounded the dam during the salvage operation yesterday. The plane's tail could be seen jutting out of the water and rescue teams were continuing to search for bodies in the reservoir last night. At least one piece of wreckage had been removed from the water, along with some luggage and shoes.

AN-2s have had a good safety record since they were first produced in Russia in 1947, despite having a "sluggish" response compared to modern aircraft. They are widely used in former Eastern bloc countries, as well as in Cuba, where one crashed in the Gulf of Mexico in 2000, killing one of the 10 people on board.

James Black, who operates pleasure flights in two of the planes in Britain, said they would not be allowed to fly in Europe with more than 12 passengers and two crew, and if the extra weight was concentrated at the back of the plane it would become difficult to control.

"It's not good practice but I don't think that in itself it would create a dangerous situation. If you encountered severe turbulence it would make it more difficult," he said.