What happened
A flight departing from Cali-Alfonso Bonilla Aragón Airport was conducting a geophysical survey over the southern region of Chocó when it crashed. The aircraft, operated by a crew consisting of two pilots and one LIDAR equipment operator, was navigating through difficult terrain. At 11:44 local time, the crew communicated that they were maintaining an altitude of 5,600 feet.
Two minutes after this report, while flying in conditions characterized by low visibility, the aircraft type struck trees and impacted hilly, forested ground near Yambo. Search efforts located the wreckage several hours following the impact. There were three fatalities among the occupants, with no survivors reported.
Findings
Investigations into the accident identified several contributing elements to the crash. The primary factor was controlled flight into terrain. The crew attempted to maintain Visual Flight Rules (VFR) despite experiencing significantly reduced visibility. Furthermore, investigators noted that the crew failed to perform an adequate operational risk assessment, partly due to a lack of familiarity with the local topography and how weather patterns evolve in that specific sector.