Incident Overview
Date: Saturday 4 August 1979
Aircraft Type: Curtiss C-46A-45-CU Commando
Owner/operator: Aircraft Line Maintenance
Registration Number: N8040Y
Location: Cerro Tupungato –
ÿ Chile
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Component Affected: FuselageFuselage
Category: Accident
A Curtiss C-46A Commando transport plane crashed in the Andes while on a ferry flight, resulting in the deaths of all five occupants. The aircraft, purchased by Aircraft Line Maintenance from Argentinian airline Austral, was re-registered N8040Y from LV-FSA and departed Buenos Aires, Argentina, traveling to Miami via Chile and Panama. The plane was crossing the Andes after a landing in Mendoza when it impacted a glacier, resulting in a slide to the bottom of the slope and subsequent wreckage discovery by a Chilean SAR team in 1981.A Curtiss C-46A Commando transport plane crashed in the Andes while on a ferry flight, resulting in the deaths of all five occupants. The aircraft, purchased by Aircraft Line Maintenance from Argentinian airline Austral, was re-registered N8040Y from LV-FSA and departed Buenos Aires, Argentina, traveling to Miami via Chile and Panama. The plane was crossing the Andes after a landing in Mendoza when it impacted a glacier, resulting in a slide to the bottom of the slope and subsequent wreckage discovery by a Chilean SAR team in 1981.
Description
A Curtiss C-46A Commando transport plane was destroyed in an accident in the Andes while on a ferry flight. All five on board were killed. The aircraft had been bought by a Miami company named Aircraft Line Maintenance from the Argentine airline Austral. The aircraft was re-registered N8040Y from LV-FSA and departed Buenos Aires, Argentina on a ferry flight to Miami via Chile and Panama. It was crossing the Andes after a landing in Mendoza when it impacted a glacier, braking in three. The main fuselage slid to the bottom of the slope. The wreckage was found in 1981 by a Chilean SAR team that was looking for a missing helicopter.
Source of Information
http://www.aerospotter.blogspot.nl/2008/01/austral-naci-hace-50-aos-con-c-46s.html, http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2000/02/27/e-04201d.htmhttp://www.aerospotter.blogspot.nl/2008/01/austral-naci-hace-50-aos-con-c-46s.html, http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2000/02/27/e-04201d.htmPrimary Cause
Glacial impact during crossing the AndesGlacial impact during crossing the AndesShare on:
