Lineas Aéreas de Transporte Nacional - LATN

Noorduyn Norseman

The aircraft was on a delivery flight from Mexico City to Asunción, Paraguay, with intermediate stops at Antofagasta, Chile and Salta, Argentina. At 1245LT the aircraft took off from Antofagasta for Salta. It was to be a VFR flight via Chosque, Chile and San Antonio de los Cobres, Salta Province. The aircraft was seen at 1400 hours flying in a straight line at very low altitude in the direction of San Antonio de los Cobres 40 km east of Olapacato. One witness, believing that the aircraft intended to land, followed it in a jeep only to find its burned wreckage some 20 km away. It had crashed into the side of a hill rising north of Rio Tocomar, approximately 70 metres above the river bed. The height above sea level at this point is approximately 4,500 metres. One eye witness stated that the aircraft crashed in rectilinear horizontal flight into the northern slope of the hill and that the pilot had not taken any avoiding action. The pilot, the sole occupant, was killed, and the aircraft was destroyed by the crash and the fire which followed.

Stinson SR-10 Reliant

Shortly after takeoff from Asunción Airport runway 20, while in initial climb, the aircraft stalled and crashed in Campo Grande, south of the airfield. All six occupants were killed. They were performing a flight to the north province of Chaco. The type of aircraft remains unconfirmed and the registration is unknown. At this time, LATN was operating Beech C-45, Consolidated Fleet, Caproni Ca-309, Breda Ba.44, Beech AT-7, Travel Air 6000 and later Noorduyn Norseman.

Beechcraft AT-7 Navigator

The twin engine aircraft left Asunción Airport at 1750LT with two officers and two pilots on board. About thirty minutes into the flight, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with thunderstorm activity. The aircraft went out of control and crashed in an uninhabited area located near Quyquyhó. The pilot was killed and his body was found in the wreckage. However, no trace of the three other occupants was found. It is believed that they may have abandon the aircraft and bail out, but as their bodies were never found, they were considered as deceased.