NTSB Factual Report

On August 7, 1997, a Douglas DC-8-61 freighter, Fine Air cargo flight 14, crashed after departure from runway 27R at Miami IAP, Miami, FL. The flight was operated under 14 CFR Part 121 as a supplemental air carrier. The three crewmembers and one security guard onboard were killed. One individual in an automobile on the ground was also killed. The airplane was destroyed by impact and postcrash fire. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. See NTSB/AAR-98/02 for details.

NTSB Probable Cause

The airplane being misloaded to produce a more aft center of gravity and a correspondingly incorrect stabilizer trim setting that precipitated an extreme pitch-up at rotation, was (1) the failure of Fine Air to exercise operational control over the cargo loading process; and (2) the failure of Aeromar to load the airplane as specified by Fine Air. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to adequately monitor Fine Air's operational control responsibilities for cargo loading and the failure of the FAA to ensure that known cargo-related deficiencies were corrected at Fine Air.