What happened
On January 28, 2026, a Beechcraft 1900D, registration HK4709, crashed into the Andes mountains in the La Playa de Belén municipality, Norte de Santander. The aircraft was performing a scheduled commercial passenger charter flight from Cúcuta (SKCC) to Ocaña (SKOC) under IFR flight rules.
After departing Cúcuta at 13:58 UTC, the flight proceeded through several legs of a multi-leg itinerary. During the final leg of the day, the aircraft departed Cúcuta for Ocaña, carrying two crew members and 13 passengers. At 16:42 UTC, flight data recorders indicated the aircraft began its takeoff roll. Following takeoff, the crew requested a direct route to the DIMIL waypoint and was authorized to descend once they reached 6,000 feet.
At 16:49 UTC, the crew notified Air Traffic Control (ATC) that they were ready to descend and were cleared to descend to their discretion. The final ADS-B transmission occurred at 16:54 UTC, showing the aircraft at 7,900 feet. Subsequent radar tracking showed a continued descent and a change in heading. The last recorded radar contact was at 16:55 UTC, showing the aircraft at a pressure altitude of 6,500 feet. The aircraft eventually struck mountainous terrain in the Vereda Curasica area, resulting in the deaths of all 15 occupants.
The investigation
The Colombian accident investigation authority (DIACC) initiated a multidisciplinary investigation involving experts in operations, airworthiness, human factors, and flight recorders. Because the aircraft and its components were manufactured in the United States and Canada, the NTSB and TSB were notified and provided technical advisors.
Investigators located the wreckage in a mountainous region of the Cordillera Oriental. The site showed significant debris dispersion over a 145-meter area, with the primary impact point identified on the right wing's leading edge and wingtip. The investigation also involved coordinating with military forces to access the site due to security concerns in the Catatumbo subregion. Flight Data Recorder (FDR) data was successfully recovered and analyzed, while efforts to recover data from the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) are ongoing.
Findings
- The aircraft struck the terrain with a significant vertical acceleration of 1.071 g recorded just before the loss of data.
- Final FDR parameters showed a negative pitch of 7.7 degrees and a decrease in engine torque on both the left and right engines prior to impact.
- The wreckage distribution indicated a continuous, pronounced damage path through the vegetation, with the right wing, right flap, and right engine mount components heavily impacted.
- Meteorological conditions at the time of the accident included fragmented low-level clouds due to orographic formation and a moderately unstable atmosphere.