ATR crashes in Cuba, Killing 68

An ATR 72-212 turboprop operated by Cuba’s Aero Caribbean crashed on November 4 in the ­central Cuban province of Sancti Spiritus, killing all 61 ­passengers and seven crewmembers. Flight 883, en route from ­Santiago de Cuba to Havana, lost contact with air traffic controllers at about 5:40 local time, after declaring “an emergency situation.”

Cuban aviation authorities ­subsequently suspended all flights as a result of ­Hurricane Tomas, which had been ­approaching the region at the time of the crash.

The aircraft, MSN 459, rolled off the ATR production line in Toulouse in November 1995. It had accumulated almost 25,000 flight hours during the course of more than 34,500 flights. Aero Caribbean had operated the airplane since October 2006.