What happened
On the morning of the accident, an international flight operated by Panagra departed Los Cerrillos Airport in Santiago, Chile, bound for Montevideo, Uruguay, with a planned stopover in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The aircraft departed at 08:06 hours, heading north over the city of Santiago and passing near Cerro San Cristobal.
During the initial stages of the flight, the crew navigated through the area of Cerro Marquehue. At 08:17 hours, the pilot contacted Panagra Control to request a deviation from the original flight plan, proposing a new route via Amarillo, Tumuyan Viejo, and Reynolds at an altitude of 5,700 meters. Mendoza Control approved this modification and requested an estimated time of arrival for the Amarillo waypoint, to which the crew responded with an estimate of 03:36 hours. Following this communication, radio contact ceased at 08:22 hours.
The aircraft proceeded inland at a low altitude relative to the surrounding mountainous terrain, passing over Farellones, Lagunillas, Planta Queltehue, and Lo Valdés. At approximately 08:36 hours, witnesses observed the Douglas DC-4 strike a mountain ridge situated between the Corona and Catedral peaks. The impact caused the aircraft to disintegrate, resulting in 87 fatalities and no survivors.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the accident was driven by a lack of pilot discipline, specifically regarding the failure to adhere to the established flight plan or the necessary altitude requirements for traversing the mountain range.