Cruzeiro do Sul - Rio Branco

On May 29, 1972 at 12:00 AM, Cruzeiro do Sul - Rio Branco experienced a crash involving Lockheed L-049 Constellation, operated by Amazonense Importação e Exportação, with the event recorded near Cruzeiro do Sul Acre.

The flight was categorized as cargo and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

18 people were known to be on board, 9 fatalities were recorded, 9 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 50.0%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 15, passenger fatalities: 6, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. Because of a lack of fuel at Cruzeiro do Sul Airport, the airplane was grounded for four days. Eventually, two fuel trucks were dispatched to the airport and the aircraft could be refueled directly from the trucks. Few minutes after takeoff, while cruising at an altitude of 8,000 feet, the engine n°3 failed, followed 10 minutes later by a second engine. Some of the cargo was jettisoned but the aircraft was still losing altitude. The captain decided to attempt an emergency landing on the Cruzeiro do Sul - Tarauacá highway when the airplane struck trees and crashed in a wooded area. Nine occupants were killed, including all three crew members, and nine other occupants were injured. The aircraft was destroyed. It was later confirmed that another aircraft that had been refueled just after PP-PDG had to reject its takeoff because of an engine failure.

Aircraft reference details include registration PP-PDG, MSN 2037, year of manufacture 1946.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately -7.6362°, -72.6692°.