Boeing 727 Night Cargo Crash at Leticia (HK-3667X)

Flight Details and Accident Sequence A Boeing 727 departed Bogotá-El Dorado Airport on a night cargo flight to Leticia. The aircraft carried three passengers, three crew members, and 13,166 kilograms of fish. During descent toward Leticia-Alfredo Vásquez Cobo Airport, the crew was advised that destination visibility had fallen to 4 kilometers, with local patches of fog. On approach, the crew requested increased runway light intensity because runway 21 lacked approach lights. At approximately 150 feet on short final, the aircraft struck a television antenna and crashed into a wooded area 3.7 kilometers short of runway 21. The aircraft burst into flames and was totally destroyed, killing all six occupants. ## Official Findings The investigation determined that, after operating under instrument flight rules, the crew decided to continue the approach at night in limited visibility under visual flight rules without meeting the minimum requirements for that type of operation. This decision led to an unsafe descent until the aircraft collided with the television antenna. Contributing factors included poor approach planning, poor judgment, violation of IFR procedures, and the crew's inability to avoid the ground obstacle when unforeseen circumstances arose.