Date & Time:
Sep 27, 1949 at 1830 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
Operator:
Registration:
LV-ABI
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Humanitarian
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Quito – Morón
MSN:
7445
YOM:
1943
Country:
Argentina
Region:
South America
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
3
Pax on board:
20
Pax fatalities:
2
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The aircraft was returning to its base in Morón following a humanitarian mission in Ecuador after an earthquake. About twenty minutes before its ETA in Buenos Aires, while descending to an altitude of 1,500 meters, the captain was in the cabin with passengers and the copilot was pilot in command when a fire erupted in the cabin. As smoke spread quickly, the captain opened a door and used a fire extinguisher without success. As the cabin was on fire, the copilot completed a belly landing in a prairie located in Castilla. The aircraft slid for several yards and came to rest in flames. Twenty people were injured while five others, among them three crew members, were killed. The aircraft was destroyed by fire.
Probable cause:
It was determined that a leak occurred on the oxygen circuit during the descent. The captain immediately instructed the occupants to stop smoking but apparently, a fire erupted after oxygen contacted sparks in an ashtray.
