2019 Colombia DC-3 crash
On 9 March 2019 a Douglas DC-3 operated by Latinoamericana de Servicios Aereo (Laser Aéreo) crashed near San Carlos de Guaroa, Colombia.[1][2] [3][4][5] The plane was on a flight from Jorge Enrique González Torres Airport, San José del Guaviare to La Vanguardia Airport, Villavicencio.[1] All 14 people on board were killed, including the mayor of Taraira, Doris Villegas.[1] The crew were attempting to land at Villavicencio and had just declared an emergency.[1]
.jpg.webp) HK-2494, the aircraft involved, seen in July 2012 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 9 March 2019 |
| Summary | Crashed onto ground after engine could not be feathered |
| Site | Finca La Bendición, San Martín, Meta, Colombia 3°34′23.3″N 73°04′43.2″W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-3 |
| Operator | Latinoamericana de Servicios Aereo |
| Registration | HK-2494 |
| Flight origin | Jorge Enrique González Torres Airport, San José del Guaviare, Colombia |
| Destination | La Vanguardia Airport, Villavicencio, Colombia |
| Occupants | 14 |
| Passengers | 11 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 14 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Aircraft
The Aeronautica Civil reports that the aircraft, registered HK-2494, was built in 1945,[5][6] for the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) as a Douglas TC-47B-DK (USAAF 44-76773 / MSN 16357 / 33105), and converted to a Douglas R4D-7 (USN Bureau Number 99826) for the United States Navy on 14 May 1945.[7][3] Re-designated as a Douglas TC-47K in 1962,[7][3] it was transferred to the University of Texas at Austin on 8 Oct 1971 with civil registration N87611.[7][3]
Crash
As the aircraft was cruising, the left engine suffered a failure, which disabled the oil system in that engine. The crew then radioed in a mayday and began a diversion to land at a runway at La Rinconada, a plantation. While they were descending, the crew could not feather the engine like was required in a engine failure, thus they began to lose speed as the engine windmilled, creating drag. At 10:31 am local time, the crew made their final transmission stating they had the runway in sight. Ground witnesses in the area said they saw the aircraft doing several turns while descending. The aircraft then crashed in proximity to a road, coming to rest just over the road, on fire. Plantation workers rushed to help, but they found no survivors.
References
- Hradecky, Simon (9 March 2019). "Crash: Laser Colombia DC3 near Villavicencio on Mar 9th 2019, lost height on approach". avherald.com. The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- "Se estrelló avioneta en el Meta: confirman 12 víctimas, entre las que habría una alcaldesa" [Plane crashed in Meta: 12 victims confirmed, including a mayor] (in Spanish). Pulzo. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- Accident description for HK2494 at the Aviation Safety Network
- "Colombia plane crash 'kills 12'". BBC News. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- Kaminski-Morrow, David (10 March 2019). "No survivors from Laser DC-3 crash in Colombia". Flightglobal.com. Flightglobal. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- Niles, Russ (10 March 2019). "DC-3 Airliner Crash Kills 14 - AVweb flash Article". www.avweb.com. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- Baugher, Joe. "US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos--Third Series (90020 to 99860)". www.joebaugher.com. Retrieved 12 March 2019.