What happened
On November 19, 2000, a Cessna 402, registration HK1140, departed from Antonio Nariño Airport in Pasto, heading toward Tumaco. The aircraft was operating a commercial flight with a crew of one pilot and seven passengers. At 14:36 local time, the pilot established contact with the control tower, reporting a position 12 nautical miles from the airport at an altitude of 6,500 feet. The tower instructed the pilot to report again upon reaching the 20-nautical-mile mark; however, no further communication was received.
At 15:43, the aircraft was officially declared in the alert phase after contact was lost. Subsequent reports received via telephone from Cimbitará indicated that the aircraft had crashed approximately 50 minutes north of the town. The impact occurred at approximately 14:55 local time near the El Desierto farmstead. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact and subsequently caught fire.
The investigation
Preliminary investigations by the GRIAA focused on the flight path and the environmental conditions at the time of the disappearance. Investigators established that the aircraft was traveling through the Nariño region under unfavorable meteorological conditions, specifically characterized by the presence of rain and low-lying fog. The investigation confirmed that the impact resulted in the total destruction of the airframe and the deaths of all eight people on board.