Date & Time:
Feb 22, 2011 at 1510 LT
Type of aircraft:
Cessna 340
Operator:
Maparca Compañía Aérea
Registration:
YV2402
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Valera – El Vigía – San Antonio del Táchira
MSN:
340A-1502
YOM:
1982
Country:
Venezuela
Region:
South America
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
1
Pax on board:
5
Pax fatalities:
5
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
6
Circumstances:
The twin engine aircraft departed Valera Airport on a charter flight to San Antonio del Táchira with an intermediate stop in El Vigía, carrying five passengers and one pilot. All flight was completed under VFR mode but while descending to San Antonio del Táchira, weather conditions worsened and the pilot switched to IFR mode. Shortly later, control was lost and the aircraft crashed on the slope of Mt Laja, near Lobatera. The wreckage was found about 25 km northeast of San Antonio del Táchira Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all six occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The most probable cause for the occurrence of this accident was the loss of situational awareness, caused mainly by the change of flight conditions under visual rules to flight under instrumental flight rules, due to the adverse weather conditions in which the descent phase began, so it is possible to establish the Human Factor as the cause of the accident and the Physical Factor as a contributor.
