What happened
During the initial climb phase after departing from Río Gallegos Airport, a four-engine aircraft struggled to maintain sufficient altitude. Faced with these performance issues, the pilot executed an emergency descent into a nearby field covered in snow.
The impact during the landing maneuver caused significant structural damage to the airframe. Specifically, both the number three and number four engines were partially sheared from their mounts. While the aircraft sustained damage that rendered it beyond repair, there were no fatalities reported. The incident resulted in three injuries among the passengers, which were described as slight.
Findings
Investigations into the accident revealed that the wings of the aircraft had been contaminated with frost. It was concluded that the failure to deice the aircraft before its departure from the airport was the primary factor leading to the loss of lift and subsequent inability to climb.