Incident
The aircraft departed Buenos Aires-Ezeiza-Ministro Pistarini Airport at 1104 local time with a crew of four, five passengers, and seven race horses destined for Lima, Peru. An intermediate stop was scheduled at Santiago de Chile. The flight continued under visual flight rules at 3,000 meters in good weather conditions. While approaching the region of San Luis, the weather deteriorated with turbulence and poor conditions. While cruising at an altitude of 4,500 meters, the airplane disintegrated in the air and eventually crashed on the slope of a mountain located near El Sosneado.
Aftermath
Search and rescue operations were conducted but eventually suspended a few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found. The wreckage was spotted on 21 November 1961 in an isolated area.
Crew and Passengers
The crew consisted of pilot Pedro Lafuente, copilot Fermín Gómez, mechanic Domingo Vacarelli, and navigator Oscar Carballo. The passengers were Sergio Etcheverry, Carlos Luján, Pedro Puccineri, Omar Silva, and Raúl Díaz.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the aircraft flew into extremely violent turbulence, was subjected to stresses greater than those for which it was designed, and in-flight structural failure resulted. Contributing causes were insufficient flight preparation, failure of the pilot to familiarize himself with the prevailing weather conditions, and improperly secured horses.