Quito – Morón

On September 27, 1949 at 06:30 PM, Quito – Morón experienced a crash involving Douglas C-54 Skymaster, operated by Flota Aerea Mercante Argentina - FAMA, with the event recorded near Castilla Buenos Aires province.

The flight was categorized as humanitarian and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a plain, valley crash site.

25 people were known to be on board, 5 fatalities were recorded, 20 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 20.0%.

Crew on board: 5, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 20, passenger fatalities: 2, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The aircraft was returning to its base in Morón following a humanitarian mission in Ecuador after an earthquake. About twenty minutes before its ETA in Buenos Aires, while descending to an altitude of 1,500 meters, the captain was in the cabin with passengers and the copilot was pilot in command when a fire erupted in the cabin. As smoke spread quickly, the captain opened a door and used a fire extinguisher without success. As the cabin was on fire, the copilot completed a belly landing in a prairie located in Castilla. The aircraft slid for several yards and came to rest in flames. Twenty people were injured while five others, among them three crew members, were killed. The aircraft was destroyed by fire.

Aircraft reference details include registration LV-ABI, MSN 7445, year of manufacture 1943.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately -34.6133°, -59.9062°.