West Caribbean Airways was a Colombian carrier that primarily existed in the early to mid-2000s. Operationally based at Medellín's José María Córdova International Airport (MDE), its corporate headquarters were located at the city's smaller Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH). Let's look back in time to see how its history panned out.

A product of the 1990s

According to Airline History, West Caribbean Airways was founded in December 1998, with the driving force being Colombian businessperson Hassan Tannir. Operations commenced just under a year later, in 1999, when its HQ was located on the island of San Andrés. The move to Medellín came in 2001.

Originally, the carrier operated inter-island flights using four Czech-built Let L-410 'Turbolet' turboprop airliners. These initially connected San Andrés with the nearby island of Providencia, but fleet and network expansion were soon on the horizon. Indeed, the dawn of the 21st century saw the carrier begin flying ATR 42s.

West Caribbean Airways operated these Franco-Italian airliners on a leased basis, with ch-aviation.com showing that four served the carrier over the years. Their arrival unlocked international routes to the likes of Cuba, Costa Rica, and Panama. Further expansion saw jetliners come onboard, namely one McDonnell Douglas MD-81 and two MD-82s. However, disaster would soon strike the airline.

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Two tragedies

By the mid-2000s, it seemed that West Caribbean Airways was growing at an unsustainable rate. Indeed, according to the New York Times, the carrier made a $4 million loss in 2004. January 2005 then saw it receive a $45,000 fine from the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority, following a string of 14 safety violations.

However, worse was to come later that year, due to the crash of West Caribbean Airways flight 9955 in March 2005. According to the Aviation Safety Network, nine of the flight's 14 occupants perished when the Let L-410 'Turbolet' operating it crashed into a forest shortly after takeoff from Providencia due to an engine failure.

Later that year, an even deadlier disaster would befall West Caribbean Airways. This involved flight 708, a charter flight from Panama to Martinique operated by a McDonnell Douglas MD-82. The jet stalled while cruising, due to flying too high for its weight and the prevailing icing conditions. This caused it to crash near the Venezuelan city of Machiques, killing all 160 people onboard.

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The end of the line

The accident involving West Caribbean Airways flight 708, which occurred on August 16th, 2005, was the deadliest ever to occur on Venezuelan soil, a record that it continues to hold today. With this being the airline's second fatal crash in less than half a year, the Colombian authorities grounded the carrier a day later.

This was the beginning of the end for West Caribbean, and it ceased operations in Sptember 2005. Unable to meet its financial obligations, its aircraft were forced to remain on the ground, rendering its services unable to fly. The story came to an end a month later, in October 2005, when the airline declared bankruptcy.

Did you know about the story of West Caribbean Airways? Perhaps you flew with this Colombian carrier back in the day? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

Sources: Airline History, Aviation Safety Network, ch-aviation.com, New York Times