Birgenair Flight 301

Birgenair Flight 301 was a flight chartered by Turkish-managed Birgenair partner Alas Nacionales from Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic to Frankfurt, Germany, via Gander, Canada, and Berlin, Germany. On 6 February 1996, the Boeing 757-200 operating the route crashed shortly after take-off from Puerto Plata's Gregorio Luperón International Airport, killing all 189 people on board. The cause was pilot error after receiving incorrect airspeed information from one of the pitot tubes, which investigators believe was blocked by a wasp nest built inside it. The aircraft had been sitting unused for 20 days, and without pitot tube covers in place for the two days preceding the crash. Flight 301 is tied with American Airlines Flight 77 as the deadliest aviation incident involving a Boeing 757, having a total of 189 fatalities. Furthermore, Flight 301 is the deadliest aviation accident ever to have occurred in the Dominican Republic.