Guayaquil – San Cristóbal

On August 22, 1997 at 02:38 PM, Guayaquil – San Cristóbal experienced a crash involving Boeing 727-200, operated by SAETA - Sociedad Anonima Ecuatoriana de Transportes Aéreos, with the event recorded near San Cristóbal Galápagos.

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

56 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 56 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 9, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 47, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. En route from Guayaquil to San Cristóbal, the crew encountered technical problems with the antiskid system. It was decided to perform a low approach to runway 16 to land on the first metres of the runway. On short final, the aircraft was too low, struck approach lights and landed 36 metres short of runway 16 threshold. On impact, the undercarriage were torn off and the aircraft skidded for about 700 metres before coming to rest. All 56 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Aircraft reference details include registration HC-BVU, MSN 21322, year of manufacture 1977.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately -0.9025°, -89.6126°.