Quito - Macará

On May 22, 1981 at 03:00 PM, Quito - Macará experienced a crash involving De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter, operated by Transportes Aéreos Mercantiles Ecuatorianos - TAME, with the event recorded near Macará Loja.

The flight was categorized as military and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a mountains crash site.

18 people were known to be on board, 18 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 2, crew fatalities: 2, passengers on board: 16, passenger fatalities: 16, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is weather. The airplane was completing a flight from Quito to Macará, carrying members of the Ecuadorian government, Army Officers and journalists who were flying to the south of the country, taking part to the next official visit of the President of the Republic of Ecuador Jaime Roldós Aguilera. While descending to Macará, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low clouds and rain showers. Too low, the airplane struck the slope of a mountain and crashed few km from Macará. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact and all 18 occupants were killed. The airplane had a dual registration FAE457 and HC-BAX.

Aircraft reference details include registration FAE457, MSN 457, year of manufacture 1975.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately -4.3267°, -79.7920°.