What happened
A flight operated by the Argentinian Air Force, traveling from Buenos Aires to the United States via Howard AFB and San Salvador, ended in a fatal accident over the Caribbean Sea. The aircraft, a four-engine transport, was transporting 60 cadets alongside nine crew members during its transit.
While flying along the coastline of Costa Rica after departing Howard AFB, the pilot notified air traffic control that the third engine had caught fire. In response to the emergency, the captain declared an intention to divert to the closest available airfield. This communication served as the final transmission from the aircraft. Shortly after this report, the plane went down in the ocean near Puerto Limón. Following the impact, search efforts recovered debris and a small number of life vests from the water, but there were no survivors among the 69 occupants.
Findings
Official investigations into the crash concluded that a definitive cause could not be established due to an absence of sufficient evidence.