Among several Russian aircraft, the state-owned airline Cubana de Aviacion also operates some Western planes, including the ATR turboprops and the Embraer Bandeirante commuter aircraft.
The Brazilian aircraft, however, would have left the company’s fleet after the EMB-110 registration CU-T1551 had its front landing gear collapsed.
The incident took place at Havana’s José Martí International Airport on April 27 as the plane was being towed away by maintenance personnel, sources told CiberCuba.
Images of Bandeirante appeared last week on social media. According to outlets covering the country’s news, the plane was eventually taken out of service.
Airplanes made in the 1970s
The EMB-110 Bandeirante, a twin-engine turboprop for up to 19 passengers, was the first aircraft designed by Embraer and began production in the 1970s.
The three turboprops that flew by Cubana Aviación were originally manufactured for the defunct airlines Rio-Sul and TABA, which operated regional flights subsidized by the Brazilian government.
In 2006, the three aircraft were acquired by the Cuban company Aero Caribbean and later transferred to Cubana. Interestingly, the other two Bandeirantes from Cubana had similar incidents to last week, but during landing.
The most recent episode took place on November 28, 2020 when the EMB-110 registration CU-T1541 made a belly landing in Havana with 15 passengers and four crew on board – there were no injuries, but the plane can no longer be used.
