Punta Arenas - Teniente Marsh

On December 31, 1985 at 08:00 PM, Punta Arenas - Teniente Marsh experienced a crash involving Cessna 404 Titan, operated by Linea Aérea Aeropetrel - Aeropetrel, with the event recorded near Teniente Rodolfo Marsh-Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva (King George Island) All Antarctica.

The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

10 people were known to be on board, 10 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: 8, passenger fatalities: 8, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The twin engine airplane departed Punta Arenas on a charter flight to Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Airport, carrying two crew members and eight American tourists. On approach, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and decided to divert to Marambio where the visibility was also limited. As the crew was unable to land in Marambio, the captain decided to return to Teniente Rodolfo Marsh. While completing a visual approach in IMC conditions, the crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the aircraft struck a hill and crashed few km from the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed and all 10 occupants were killed. Crew: Iván Martínez Díaz, pilot, Armando Soto San Martín, copilot.

Aircraft reference details include registration CC-CHX, MSN 404-0684, year of manufacture 1980.