Accident Summary
On December 7, 2002, at 15:35 UTC, a Cessna TU206G, registration OB-1180, crashed into the side of a mountain in the Cordillera Azul near Boqueron Padre Abad, Ucayali, Peru. The aircraft was destroyed and all four occupants—the pilot and three passengers—were killed.
Flight Details
The aircraft, manufactured in 1980 and powered by a single Teledyne Continental IO-520-F engine, was operated by Aero Pantanal under Peruvian RAP 135 regulations. The pilot, a 46-year-old commercial pilot with 6,950 hours of flight experience, filed a VFR flight plan from Pucallpa to Zorrillos and back, with an intended overflight of the Aguaytía area. However, the flight was conducted without proper authorization for aerial photography, which had been verbally denied by authorities on the previous day. According to video footage recovered from a passenger camera, the right side door had been removed to facilitate filming, and the aircraft performed bank angles of approximately 60° and flew in cloud conditions.
Search and Recovery
At 15:05 UTC, the Peruvian Navy reported activation of the aircraft's ELT. Search efforts began, but dense vegetation delayed visual location. On December 8, another aircraft located the wreckage at coordinates S09°19'15" W075°37'04" at approximately 4,000 feet elevation on a mountainside. Helicopters could not reach the site due to rugged terrain, so a ground rescue team was inserted on December 11, finding the wreckage and the deceased occupants the following day.
Investigation Findings
The investigation determined the probable cause of the accident as impact with terrain for undetermined reasons. Contributing factors included the pilot's decision to deviate from the VFR flight plan into IMC conditions, failure to maintain visual clearance from terrain, and complacency leading to loss of situational awareness. Additionally, the investigation noted unsafe supervision by the company, including installation of an unairworthy propeller component with falsified documentation, and operation of the aircraft in a non-airworthy condition.