Florencia | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The aircraft departed Villavicencio on a cargo flight to Florencia, carrying three passengers, two pilots and a load consisting of 2,540 kg of various goods. While cruising under VFR mode at an altitude of 6,500 feet, weather conditions worsened and the crew attempted to modify his route when the aircraft impacted ground and crashed in a wooded and mountainous area located some 45 km north of San Vincente del Caguán, near Uribe. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and all five occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the accident was the consequence of a controlled flight into terrain. The crew failed to evaluate properly the risks and the danger of poor weather conditions and decided to perform the flight in VFR mode. While cruising in IMC and failing to check the minimum prescribed altitude, the crew suffered a loss of situational awareness, causing the aircraft to hit he mountainous terrain.

Final Report:

Crash of a Fokker F28 Fellowship 3000 in Florencia: 46 killed

Date & Time: Mar 28, 1985 at 0950 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fokker F28 Fellowship

Operator:

Registration:

FAC-1140

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Bogotá – Neiva – San Vicente del Caguán – Florencia

MSN:

11165

YOM:

1981

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

1327

Aircraft flight cycles:

2288

Circumstances:

En route from San Vicente del Caguán to Florencia, the last leg of the trip, the crew was informed that the Florencia-Gustavo Artunduaga Paredes Airport was closed to traffic due to insufficient visibility caused by dense fog. Nevertheless, the crew attempted an approach and initiated a descent. The last radio contact was recorded 10 minutes prior to the accident when the aircraft was at an altitude of 3,600 feet. On final, the aircraft struck the slope of a mountain shrouded in clouds and located 15 km from the airport. The aircraft was totally destroyed upon impact and all 46 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The accident was the consequence of a controlled flight into terrain after the crew decided to continue the approach in below-minima weather conditions.

Crash of a Curtiss C-46A-35-CU Commando in the Orteguaza River

Date & Time: Oct 21, 1981

Type of aircraft:

Curtiss C-46 Commando

Operator:

Registration:

HK-388

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Medellín - Barranquilla

MSN:

26796

YOM:

1944

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft departed Medellín-Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport on a cargo flight to Barranquilla-Soledad, carrying six passengers and three crew members. En route, the aircraft was hijacked by four people who wanted to be flown on a remote airstrip located in the Guajira Peninsula. Four to five tons of weapons were loaded on board the airplane that departed and flew to the region of Florencia. The crew was forced to land in the Orteguaza River, about 7 km east of Florencia. The airplane came to rest in shallow waters, all weapons were offloaded and the aircraft was abandoned. The crew were released by the hijackers on November 10, 1981.

Probable cause:

Forced landing in water after being hijacked.

Crash of a Vickers 745D Viscount near Florencia: 50 killed

Date & Time: Aug 27, 1981 at 1545 LT

Type of aircraft:

Vickers Viscount

Operator:

Registration:

HK-1320

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Florencia - Neiva

MSN:

112

YOM:

1956

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Few minutes after takeoff from Florencia-Gustavo Artunduaga Paredes Airport, while cruising in bad weather conditions, the four engine airplane struck the slope of Mt Santa Elena shrouded in clouds and located about 48 km north of Florencia. The wreckage was found few hours later. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 50 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the crew continued to fly under VFR mode in IMC conditions below the minimum safe altitude as published in the procedures.

Crash of a Douglas DC-4 in Neiva

Date & Time: Aug 11, 1981

Type of aircraft:

Douglas DC-4

Operator:

Registration:

HK-136

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Florencia - Neiva

MSN:

10407

YOM:

1944

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

While descending to Neiva Airport, the crew encountered unknown technical problems and completed an emergency landing in an open field. All occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Douglas C-47 in El Doncello: 23 killed

Date & Time: Jan 8, 1975 at 0830 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Operator:

Registration:

FAC-688

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Neiva – San Vicente del Caguán – Puerto Rico – Florencia

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft was completing a flight from Neiva to Florencia with intermediate stops in San Vicente del Caguán and Puerto Rico, Caquetá. Few minutes after takeoff from Puerto Rico, while cruising in marginal weather conditions, the airplane crashed in a mountain terrain located near El Doncello. The aircraft was destroyed and all 23 occupants were killed.

Crash of an Avro 748-260-2A near Florencia: 32 killed

Date & Time: Jan 9, 1974 at 1640 LT

Type of aircraft:

Avro 748

Operator:

Registration:

FAC-1103

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Bucaramanga – Florencia – Bogotá

MSN:

1704

YOM:

1971

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Ten minutes after takeoff from Florencia-Gustavo Artunduaga Paredes Airport, while climbing in marginal weather conditions, the twin engine airplane struck the slope of Mt Gabinete (3,500 meters high) located about 34 km northwest of Florencia. The wreckage was found in a wooded 200 meters below the summit and all 32 occupants have been killed.