At 01:03 a.m. this Thursday (5th), flight 2L 755 of Transporte Aéreo Bolivianos (TAB Cargo), operated by a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (F) registered as CP 2791, experienced an incident that resulted in the blockage of the sole runway at Viru Viru International Airport (VVI), serving Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
The flight originated from Miami (MIA) with a prior stop in La Paz (LPB). The incident caused significant delays and cancellations at the airport, which are still impacting operations more than twelve hours later.
Navegación Aérea y Aeropuertos Bolivianos (NAABOL) reported that operations at Viru Viru International Airport were fully restored by 08:30. However, the incident during the early hours on the sole operational runway, identified as 16/34, led to the diversion of six flights from BoA, Copa Airlines, Avianca, and Air Europa. These aircraft only returned to the airport around midday on Thursday.
For reasons under investigation, upon landing, the DC-10’s main landing gear tires burst. This prevented the aircraft from taxiing to the cargo terminal, blocking the runway.
“At this moment, we cannot explain the exact reasons for this incident. However, once the competent authority concludes the investigation, the final results will be communicated,” said Milton López, NAABOL’s departmental chief in Santa Cruz, during a press conference.
NAABOL announced that it activated the emergency protocols outlined in Bolivian Aeronautical Regulations, coordinating with the relevant authorities to ensure operational safety.
«To safeguard the safety of air operations, some domestic and international operations were temporarily suspended, with the corresponding NOTAM issued for the closure of runway 16/34 while inspections and necessary verifications were carried out by the competent authorities,” concluded NAABOL.
Current status of TAB Cargo and its sole DC-10
For TAB Cargo, this incident is a significant blow to its operations, as this aircraft is its only Douglas DC-10-30F. The aircraft operated for FedEx between 1988 and 2013 before being transferred to the state-owned Bolivian company.
According to information obtained via FlightRadar24, its primary destination is Miami (MIA), with flights departing from Cochabamba (CBB), La Paz (LPB), and Santa Cruz de la Sierra (VVI). It occasionally operates in Montevideo, Santiago, Asunción, Manaus, and Panama City.
In 2020, TAB transported 11,588 tons of imports from the United States to Bolivia, while it exported 518 tons to the northern giant.
