A small tourist plane crashed in Peru on Saturday, leaving all 13 people on board dead, according to bbc.co.uk. The aircraft, a Cessna Caravan C-208 operated by the local Peruvian airline Aerodiana, went down in a field outside the city of Nazca as it flew over the UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site.
Tragic Tourist Plane Crash Kills 13 Over Southern Peru
The flight was carrying 11 foreign passengers and two crew members. According to Peru’s Ministry of Transport and Communications and state news reports, the passengers included seven Italian, two German, and two Spanish tourists. Police identified the pilot and copilot as Americo Salazar Cuellar and Irenka Del Carpio, respectively.
Flight Timeline and Emergency Contact
According to the Ministry of Transport, the aircraft took off from Pisco Airport at approximately 12:10 p.m. local time on Saturday. At roughly 1:00 p.m., the crew reported an emergency situation to the control tower at Nazca airport before all radio contact was lost. Police reported that the crash took place at 1:20 p.m. in the Pueblo Viejo region or Socos area, approximately 6 kilometers from the city of Nazca and roughly 12 to 19 kilometers from the actual Nazca Lines site.
The aircraft caught fire after crashing, which made any rescue attempts impossible. Firefighters and municipal police officers were dispatched to extinguish the flames. Police Major Jorge Andrade told reporters at the scene that, given the severity of the accident, there were no survivors and that they had recovered four bodies so far (BBC News).
Context and Previous Incidents at the UNESCO Site
The Nazca Lines are a major tourist attraction in southern Peru, featuring ancient drawings of animals and geometric figures etched into the desert sand that are only fully visible from the air. The site attracts roughly 100,000 to hundreds of thousands of annual visitors who frequently take small aircraft to view the extent of the geoglyphs.
This incident is part of a history of fatal aviation accidents over the famed heritage site over the past few decades. Previous crashes include a 2022 incident that killed seven people and a 2010 crash that claimed six lives (BBC News). Days prior to the Saturday crash, flights departing from the nearby Maria Reiche Airport had been suspended temporarily on July 31 due to strong winds exceeding 40 kph that kicked up dust and reduced visibility.
Ongoing Investigation and Airline Response
The exact cause of the crash remains under investigation by Peruvian authorities. In a statement posted online, the Municipalidad Provincial de Nasca expressed deep sorrow for the accident and extended condolences to the families of the victims (BBC News). Peru’s tourism ministry also issued a statement expressing sorrow over the tragic deaths.
Aerodiana stated that it would assess its flight schedule in accordance with the directives of the relevant authorities (BBC News). According to the airline’s website, it has offered scenic overflights of the Nazca lines for 14 years using Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft.
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