Austral Lineas Aéreas

Douglas DC-9

The aircraft departed Posadas-Libertador General José de San Martín Airport at 2118LT on a regular scheduled flight to Buenos Aires, carrying 69 passengers and five crew members. While cruising at an altitude of 35,000 feet, weather conditions deteriorated with cumulonimbus reported till 49,000 feet, stormy weather, icing conditions and severe turbulences with winds up to 80 km/h and an OAT of -59° C. The crew modified his route and entered the Montevideo FIR without contacting Montevideo ATC. At 2204LT, the aircraft entered an area with severe icing conditions and three minutes later, the copilot (pilot-in-command) initiated a descent without prior permission. Meanwhile, the captain contacted Ezeiza Control, requesting permission to descend. Ezeiza Control radioed that the flight was over Uruguay territory and that they needed to contact Montevideo Control for permission. At 2209:17, Montevideo ATC cleared the crew to descend to FL257, an altitude reached at 2210:25. During the descent the first officer complained that his airspeed indicator did not seem to be working correctly. Descending through FL300, the first officer extended the slats. The pilots were trained to extend slats when recovering from approach to stall situations at 10,000 - 12,000 feet. However, the actual airspeed at the time of extension was higher than permitted. This exceeded the design limit, causing an asymmetry. The aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in a near vertical attitude in an open field located about 21 km east of Nuevo Berlin. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 74 occupants were killed. At the point of impact, a cratere of 10 metres deep by 30 metres wide was found. The accident was not survivable. It was reported that that the airspeed suddenly increased from 200 knots to 450 knots in four seconds, probably after the Pitot tubes got iced.

McDonnell Douglas MD-81

On final approach to Posadas-Libertador General José de San Martín Airport, the crew encountered heavy fog with visibility down to 100 meters. The crew passed the decision height and continued the approach until the aircraft struck the tops of eucalyptus trees and crashed in a dense wooded area located 3 km short of runway 01, bursting into flames. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 22 occupants were killed.

BAc 111

Following an uneventful flight from San Miguel de Tucumán, the crew started the descent to Buenos Aires-Aeroparque-Jorge Newbury Airport. At 1035LT the Tower controller cleared the flight to descend to 750 metres to the San Fernando VOR and cleared the flight for a direct approach to runway 13 from the VOR. At 1040LT the flight reported over the OP VOR and was cleared to land. The wind had shifted from 6 knots at 60° to 12 knots at 030°. Visibility was reducing. At 1042LT the crew reported the runway in sight and obtained the current weather information, which included heavy rainfall, wind 360 degrees at 10 knots. The pilots lost sight of the runway and decided to abort the approach. The One-Eleven continued South to the Quilmes (ILM) NDB. The Tower controller cleared the flight to hold over the ILM beacon at 900 metres. Because of Cumulonimbus clouds over the NDB, the crew requested a holding pattern over the Río de la Plata at 600 metres. At 10:52 they were cleared for another straight in approach to runway 31. Shortly afterwards the pilots lost control of the plane, which crashed into the river. Just 55-65% of the wreckage was recovered; both FDR and CVR were not found after 42 days of searching. All 31 occupants were killed.

BAc 111

The airplane was completing a charter flight and departed Buenos Aires-Aeroparque-Jorge Newbury Airport at 2253LT bound for San Carlos de Bariloche. While on a night ILS approach to runway 28, the crew encountered technical problems with the ILS reception and the captain decided to initiate a go-around procedure. Few minutes later, the crew started the descent prematurely with a rate of descent of 2,200 feet per minute instead of the required 750 feet per minute. This caused the aircraft to descend below the minimum descent altitude until it collided with ground about 21 km east of the airport. All five crew members and 41 passengers were killed while 33 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

BAc 111

Just after liftoff, while in initial climb, the crew noticed a loss of power on the left engine. The captain decided to land back but the remaining distance was 950 meters only. Unable to stop in time, the airplane struck arresting cables installed for the Douglas A4Q Skyhawk of the Argentinian Navy. Impact caused severe damages to both wings and the airplane came to rest in flames as the fuel tanks were punctured. All 74 occupants were evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Curtiss C-46 Commando

After liftoff, while climbing to a height of some 300 feet, the left engine stopped. The aircraft stalled but the captain was able to regain control and to perform an emergency landing on a sports field located near the airport. Both pilots were uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Curtiss C-46 Commando

The aircraft departed Buenos Aires-Aeroparque-Jorge Newbury Airport at 1950LT with a delay of 35 minutes due to bad weather at destination. Following an uneventful flight, the captain obtained the permission to land on runway 12 at Mar del Plata-Brigadier General Bartolomé de la Colina Airport, passed over the threshold at a height of 85 meters and overshot. The captain decided to make a go around when control was lost. The airplane stalled and crashed into the sea about 1,2 km offshore. A passenger was seriously injured while all 51 other occupants were killed.