Douglas C-49 (DC-3)

Borinquen Air

The crew of an all cargo flight experienced a failure of the left engine while in the traffic pattern at their destination. They raised the landing gear but failed to feather the left propeller and failed to trim the aircraft. The resulting skid and increased drag made further flight impossible. The crew elected to ditch the aircraft in a lagoon about 2 miles southwest of the airport. The aircraft was not recovered from the lagoon and therefore it was not determined why the left engine lost power. Both pilots escaped with minor injuries.

Aircraft Sales %26 Leasing - ASL

While circling to land on a remote area in Port Mayaca, the airplane lost height, struck trees and crashed. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots were killed. The airplane was carrying a load of 2,2 tons of marijuana.

Aero Service Corporation - USA

Landed hard at Tamanrasset-Aguenar Airport and came to rest. All three crew members escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

TANA Colombia - Transportes Aéreos Nacionales de Colombia

During the takeoff roll at Ipiales-San Luis Airport in heavy rain falls, control was lost. The airplane veered off runway and came to rest. All 17 occupants escaped with minor injuries and the airplane was damaged beyond repair.

Executive Funds

While descending to Durban Airport on a charter flight, the pilot-in-command completed a turn to join the approach path when the left engine failed, followed shortly later by the right engine. The crew elected to modify the position of the fuel selector but the engines did not respond. The captain attempted an emergency landing when the airplane crash landed on a beach located in Umbogintwini, about 6 km southwest of the airport. A passenger was killed while 24 other occupants were evacuated safely. Nevertheless, some of them were injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Hawthorne Nevada Airlines

While cruising by night under VFR mode, the crew changed his route from 170° to 195° direction Palmdale as they thought flying over the valley. Shortly later, the airplane struck a ridge and crashed down the slope of Mt Whitney (11,770 feet high) located about 12,5 miles west of Lone Pine. SAR operations were quickly conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the 35 occupants was found. The wreckage was located in a very hazardous area on August 8, 1969 and was not detectable till this date due to snow accumulation on the ground. The accident was unsurvivable.

LADECO Airlines - Línea Aérea del Cobre

Following an uneventful flight from Santiago de Chile (flight LCO213), the crew started the descent to Coyhaique-Teniente Vidal Airport when the airplane went out of control, entered a dive and crashed in a mountainous area. The wreckage was found few hours later 24 km northwest of Coyhaique, in an uninhabited area. The aircraft was destroyed and all 36 occupants have been killed.

Aerolineas del Pacifico - ARPA

The aircraft took off from Buenaventura at 1630LT on a return flight to el Guavito aerodrome, Cali. Expected time of arrival at Cali was 1700 hours. On board the aircraft were the pilot, a steward (who held no licence to act as such), a flight engineer (who on this occasion was acting as copilot), and 33 passengers. When 1700 hours passed with no sign of the aircraft's arriving at Cali, a search was initiated. The wreckage was located the same evening on the side of El Rucio mountain. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 36 occupants have been killed.

Regina Cargo Airlines

The aircraft was performing a special flight from Fort Ord AFB (Monterey) to McChord AFB, carrying 19 military passengers and two pilots. En route, the crew cancelled the IFR flight plan and continued under VFR in poor weather conditions. At an altitude of 2,600 feet in foggy conditions, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain, was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 21 occupants were killed.

Mercury Aviation

The aircraft left Durban in the early morning on a flight to London via Johannesburg. While cruising in poor weather conditions, the aircraft hit the slope of Mt Spitzkop located 32 km south of Vrede, in the Witkoppens Mountain Range. All 13 occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was off track by eight miles, probably due to navigational error on part of the crew, caused by the lack of visibility due to poor weather conditions.