Crash of a Douglas DC-3A in the Las Palomas Mountain Range: 17 killed
Date & Time:
Jul 29, 1972 at 0653 LT
Operator:
Registration:
HK-1341
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Villavicencio – Yopal – Trinidad – Orocué – Las Gaviotas
MSN:
11716
YOM:
1943
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
14
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
17
Circumstances:
At 0620LT, an Avianca Douglas DC-3A registered HK-107 departed Villavicencio-La Vanguardia Airport on flight AV630 to Saravena via Paz de Ariporo and Arauca with 18 passengers and a crew of three on board. Two minutes later, at 0622LT, a second Avianca Douglas DC-3A registered HK-1341 departed the same airport on a service to Las Gaviotas via Yopal, Trinidad and Orocué with 14 passengers and a crew of tree on board. While cruising by night over the Las Palomas Mountain Range, both aircraft collided and crashed in a mountainous terrain located about 75 km north of Villavicencio-La Vanguardia Airport. Both aircraft were destroyed and all 38 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the collision remains unclear.
