What happened
A scheduled flight traveling from Sao Paulo via Porto Alegre and Montevideo to Buenos Aires was conducting a visual approach to Montevideo when the accident occurred. After refueling at Porto Alegre, the aircraft type departed for Montevideo with 1,471 gallons of fuel. During the descent, the aircraft transitioned from instrument flight rules to visual flight rules as it approached the airport.
While performing a visual approach, the aircraft struck an earth bank located near highway 102, causing the nose and port landing gear to impact the ground. The aircraft remained in motion, with the starboard wing subsequently making contact with the terrain approximately two meters later. As the wreckage continued along the ground, both propellers and the starboard engine were lost. The structural integrity of the plane failed when the starboard wing detached, leading to a longitudinal rotation of the fuselage. Due to uneven friction and a slight slope in the terrain, the fuselage skidded and rotated before coming to a halt 380 meters from the initial impact point. The incident took place between 21:19 and 21:21 hours, resulting in one fatality among the crew.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the accident was the result of pilot error, although the specific reason for the error could not be definitively proven. While mechanical failures or issues with ground-based navigation aids were ruled out, investigators noted that the pilot's perception of altitude was inaccurate. The pilot believed the aircraft maintained a clearance of approximately 80 meters, yet the aircraft struck the ground.
Factors contributing to the loss of situational awareness included a sudden reduction in visibility caused by the aircraft entering a patch of fog. At the moment the pilot activated the landing lights, the glare likely obscured visual references to the ground. Furthermore, the surrounding environment was extremely dark, leaving the runway as the only visible landmark for the crew during the final moments of the approach.