Corporate Air Services

Fairchild C-123 Provider

The aircraft departed San Salvador-Ilopango Airport and was dispatched over Nicaragua to deliver military supply to the Contras on behalf of a US program. On board were 70 AK-47 rifles, about 100,000 ammunition, rockets and grenades. Approaching San Carlos after flying along the coast, the crew descended to an altitude of 2,500 feet and was preparing to jettison the cargo when the aircraft was shot downy by a surface-to-air SAM-7 missile from the Sandinista forces. The aircraft lost height and crashed. Three crew members were killed while the fourth was able to parachute to safety. He was later captured by the Sandinista National Liberation Front.