What happened
In the early morning hours, an aircraft departed from Nichols AFB en route to San Jose Buenavista. The flight was carrying a total of 37 occupants, consisting of 30 passengers and 7 crew members.
While maintaining a cruising altitude of 6,000 feet, the aircraft type struck the side of Mt Madiac, situated approximately 95 km northeast of its destination. The impact occurred in an area characterized by difficult weather conditions, including low cloud cover and visibility restricted to only a few hundred meters.
Following the disappearance, search and rescue operations were initiated. Three days after the event, wreckage was located in a remote location roughly 300 meters beneath the mountain's summit. The impact resulted in the destruction of the plane and 37 fatalities.
Findings
Investigation into the crash revealed that the aircraft encountered severe weather during its cruise phase. High winds, reaching gusts of up to 40 knots, were present at the time of the accident. These gusty winds caused the aircraft to deviate from its intended flight path, leading to the collision with the terrain.