On bth. ‘October. 1976, “about 8 minutes after taking off. from Barbados International | | : . (Seawell) Airport en route for Cuba via Jamaica, the pilot of the above aircraft -- Yeported to the control tower that there had been “an explosion" and that. there | “Was. a “fire on board", About-5 mins. later, whilst attempting to return to the. airport the aircraft crashed into the’ sea. about 5 miles off. the. West coast of . Barbados. and sank in deep water. - All .73 occupants were killed.” A small amount “Of: ‘floating wreckage and 15 bodies were recovered. The main wreckage has not. been: Salvaged. An immediate investigation was initiated PY the Barbados civil » Aviation and Police authorities. Ss Me ay. : am On 10th October - 1976 ‘I arrived in Barbados at the | request of ‘the: ‘Barbados - “. Government to assist both. the Civil Aviation a aa in the ‘Tole of | Specialist investigator and see es "fam an . independent aircraft accident investigator specialist and. adviser. “so IT retired from the British Governments Accidents Investigation Branch in- | engineering division and, in addition to normal. aircraft accident investigations, . . IT have made-a special study, over the last 26 years,. in the detection: of explosive: a Sabotage in aircraft: wreckage... I have. investigated a number. OE such cases” din |. |. Various parts of. the world. ed ne ce Qe am a. ‘Chartered ¥ En _ eckety RAGS) 1962. aA: the available wreckage was confined in a Police. Buildin; -cunder strict security.” This flotsam consisted mainly of li “\ personal bage age, and cabin furnishings, and included 20 se - suitcases in various states of damage, wheel, one nose wheel, pieces of wing structure fairing, ' spoiler, one fire extinguisher, 3 oxygen bo lavatory door and bulkhead, pieces of. the forward bar. .and a plese cabin bulkhead, recovered, ; Asd Explosive blast evidence es A detailed examination of the. available sultcas-: ; of / black Plastic simulated | leather "EXAMINATION OF THE EQOATING WRECKAGE (FLOTSAM) RECOVERED FROM 2 i ee CUBANA AIRLINES DC8 Cur 1201 - oy : ERIC | NEWTON 180, MBE, C. Bag, FRA@S a “Specialist: Javestigator: & ‘Adviser — ee oe ae oh “INTRODUCTION a 2s “STATUS IN THE “INQUIRY nd Police investigating authorities t. | “36. ““EXPERTENCE “AND QUALIFICATIONS - a Bee February 1975 after 33 years service... I was: Principal Inspector in the ° a As INSPECTION OF AVAILABLE ‘WRECKAGE | Z near “Seawell Aizport ght structure, at cushions, 14: 5 life rafts, one ‘escape chute,- one. main. aileron trim tab. and. ttles, one rear passenger cabin | and 2 plese of forward “The flight recorders were not recovered. ~ The Journey Log. was: a revealed 3 Cuban ‘made suitcases: » and alt of the same Pattern damaged extensive Docld:32297767T° Page 4
' Released” , the, John -F.- Kennedy..Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (44 USC 21 7 Hotey- Sana £ in a significant manner consistent “with them ‘having been exposed close to _.' an explosive blast. Numerous small perforaticens and shredding of material” >. with signs of heat were noted. A number of very small metal fragments were “. found embedded in these suitcases (see list at Appendix A). These were | “s. extracted for further examination under the scanning electron microscope. © Preliminary examination on site showed that some of these fragments were ©. similar to fragments that have been explosively produced. Their very small _ a size coupled with the fact that they:had penetrated into the suitcase also - ‘ .. indicates that they had been subjected to extreme velocity. There is no. 2: alreraft mechanism or system which could fail or explode or cause a mechanical. “explosion in which such small fragments of metal are produced and accelerated: . oo with explosive velocity. They appeared mainly of aluminium metal. | Some of oo POSS these fragments, when examined microscopically revealed small fibres of white 3. fibre glass adhering to them.wand white fibre glass strands were noted embedded | | ts in other items. In the D.C.8, panels made from white fibre glass line the. : under: floor cargo/baggage holds. sik: : mt wore Ba So ee a - Purther ‘evidence consistent with explosive blast was a side’ curtain. ‘from the ve passenger. .cabin window. This took the form of numerous perforations and local °.. ’. Shredding of the material. One passenger seat cushion cover also showed numerou -: small perforations. A tangled and compressed mass of mixed fibres, similar to | :| @ passenger seat cushion material, was found jammed into a life raft which is - os Rormally stowed. in _ the ceiling compartnent in the rear ‘part of the Passenger “, Cabin, Sas Tine : gah oe O. These items were . subjected to forensic. detail examination at the ‘RARDE Labora / fordes in _ the United Kingdom (see separate report). Ay 2 Fire. evidence 7 Oo Tt. was ; evident, from the burnt condition of the left hand rear lavatory door * and bulkhead, and a piece of coat room bulkhead, that there had been a fire - _- at the rear part of the passenger compartment. The lavatory door and bulkhead had been torn from their locations and their surfaces were burnt particularly. “at the bottom.:- The. blackened fractures suggested that these items. had been _ torn off before the- fire. The hand fire extinquisher and oxygen bottles which : -. are. normally stowed. in the rear part of the passenger cabin also. showed signs” .. ..0£ heat and soot... It was noted that the fire extinquisher’ was empty and the oes Sealed safety wire on the operating trigger was broken. The oxygen bottles, ... which had: been torn from their’ locations, were also empty. However, though. oO. they showed signs of heat. and soot; they.showed no other damage or disruption. | One economy passenger seat cushion and its cover showed. evidence of burning, - |< .. ; and damage in one corner after the burning. A small area of the life raft, which] is normally stowed in the ceiling compartment at.the rear of the passenger |: : _". compartment, was burnt. . The general fire pattern appeared to- track from -. floor level up to the roof of the rear passenger cabin. Sora : rit There - was no evidence to. support fire at the forward end of the passenger Jeabin. oo DS ee , oe _ : The fire is “considered to be | a secondary feature to the explosion. 5. POST MORTEM BODY XRAYS Examination of a number of Xray negatives taltéa at - Queen Elizabeth! s Hospital, *. Barbados, on some of the victims revealed in ~ Subject 'A' a fragment of metal” embedded in the knee, and in Subject. ‘E' were numerous fragments of metal and . Docld: 32297767 Page 5
other material embedded in the lower torso. These fragments were later |. “hs. removed and have been gubjected to forensic examination in the forensic ._ > explosive laboratory. ‘in the United. Kingdom (see separate report). The very © . Small size of some of these fragments, together with signs of heat and extreme >}. j ‘8 velocity is. consistent with the subject being in the vicinity of an explosion. _ Some of” ‘the material is foreign to that of the aircraft structure. . 6. AIRNORTHINESS ASPECTS | ‘Nothing was found. in the small amount of aircraft structure recovered which “\. indicates, or suggests, that any mechanical defect or failure caused or ‘contributed to: this disaster. In addition the Journey Log for this aircraft," } which was recovered, showed | no recorded defects — UP to ) the time of the disaster. qe “FORENSIC EXPLOSIVE ‘LABORATORY. “EXAMINATION A number of specimens - (see Appendix ay were selected and with the agreement. of -the Barbados Government Investigating authorities these items were sealed and . ‘sent to the United Kingdoms Government Forensic Explosives Laboratories ‘at the: - Royal Armament and Development Establishment (RARDE), Fort Halstead and Woolvrict - for, examination, ~These physical and chemical examinations, using advanced — 220 [) 5 - techniques, suggested that a high explosive device had been detonated. - Traces. vs bE nity oglycerine were found from the Surfaces of the Suitcases... : aan Be ANALYSTS. ns Analysis of the material evidence obtained from the available wreckage, ‘together X “with the circumstantial evidence including the R/T messages from the aircraft, 5 . indicates’a sudden and unexpected occurrence unconnected with the airworthines wc O£ the aircraft or its operating crew. . This occurrence, whilst the aircraft “was flying en route over the sea, took place about 8 mins after taking off. -<There is little doubt, from the urgency in the voice recorded on the R/T tape, that a dire emergency existed in the airéraft at this time. Examination of . | . the small amount of floating wreckage recovered does not indicate, cr suggest, | ~ _ any technical defect or failure of the aircraft or its systems which could have’ » led up to this emergency. The recorded R/T message reported that an explosion fo -» had occurred in this aircraft and that a fire existed. Inspection of a number | :) «of suitcases, furnishings and post mortem examination of a number of bodies | Yevealed evidence consistent with a detonation of a high. explosive device. » ~. Forensic physical examination, metallographic and chemical analysis is > : - Consistent with a severe disruption having taken place. The finding of traces: f, of nitroglycerine | on the ‘suitcases sug agests that an explosion probably occurred. ~The fire is ‘considered to be “secondary. ‘to the explosion and affected the rear _ . - of the passenger cabin. ‘There was no evidence to support fire existing at- the . co front | Part of the aircraft although there. could well have. been smoke.» The. finding of 1 numerous pieces of white fibre glass fragments’ in the upper | <.°: Year cabin, suitcases and a body, and the general, blast direction upwards _ ; », through the rear passenger cabin suggests that the explosive device detonated bE, in the rear underfloor cargo/baggage hold, the walls and roof of which are Lineal ~ 4° with panels of white fibre glass. 7 — “s feta : "Although there is no- positive evidence to ‘show precisely why ‘the aircraft” a _: eveutually crashed into the sea after flying for several minutes after reporiing| [ore the: explosion, it is considered likely that this: was associated with the | crews Docld: 32297767 Page 6
"Released under the John F. ‘Kennedy Assassination Records. -CoLlection. ABE -- “OE 499°. (44° USC°2107 Hotey- inability to control. the aircraft. The flying controls (steel cables) are ~~ . located under the passenger cabin floor and routed towards the Sables by ans. “ ~“along the roof of. the cargo/baggage holds. Disruption of these cables by an - explosion ‘would, of course, result in loss of control. This, apparently. did | “Mot occur immediately and the aircraft was able to turn and be flown. for. _. Several minutes towards the airport after reporting "an explosion". .- The . -. @xplosive blast could therefore have been to one side of. the flying control ° .” Cables probably close to the fuselage side wall. A severe fire at floor level: “».in.the rear cabin could, eventually, cause the fair leads, pulleys and structur - Supporting the tensioned cables to collapse with consequent loss (of (Pitch and. “S _ direction control. - aoe A oA likely. alternative, in this particular case, and a ‘known hazard ‘from ., internal. fires or cargo hold explosion, would be the obliteration of inside © and outside reference > by dense: smoke and fumes, in | the cockpit: resulting | in. loss of control. : a ay - = 9. FINDINGS _ GA high explosive device detonated : within this aircraft (6 @) the location was ‘probably in the rear under£loor - cargo/bagzas e. “hola. yo As ; a result of this explosion i fire | developed in ‘the rear © passenger » cabin, | ase cn ; - Control of the aircraft. was ‘lost, whilst ‘attempting. to return to the ~ airport. and the aircraft crashed into the Seas. aos “410, CONCLUSION pa The aireraft % was lost following the detonation of a high explosive device on . board the aircraft. ; Sans a ee “ERIC NEWTON, ce Iso, MBE Cc. Eng, ee ee 15 November 1976. as Cs ERAeS.. Docld: 32297767: Page ?F