Crash of a Douglas C-47 off Punta de Amapala: 21 killed
Date & Time:
Aug 3, 1975 at 1930 LT
Operator:
Registration:
412
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Veracruz - San Salvador - Managua
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
18
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
21
Circumstances:
The airplane was completing a charter flight from Veracruz to Managua with an intermediate stop in San Salvador, carrying 18 Mexican actors. While descending to San Salvador-Ilopango Airport, the crew was forced to make a go-around and could not land due to poor weather conditions. The captain decided to divert to an airport located on the coast when few dozen minutes later, the airplane crashed into the Gulf of Fonseca, about 300 meters off Punta de Amapala. All 21 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Loss of control after both engines failed due to a fuel exhaustion.
