Incident
On a scheduled flight from London to Buenos Aires with stops at Paris, Lisbon, Dakar, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Asunción, a Lockheed Constellation carried 14 passengers and 10 crew. At 0105 local time, the flight called Asunción control tower, which cleared it to land on Runway 02 and requested a call when on final approach. The last contact with the flight occurred at 0115 local time.
A control tower employee observed the aircraft moving toward the south-southwest. He attempted to sight it and noted it heading toward the city, making a left turn and appearing to initiate its final straight-in approach. After sufficient time for landing had elapsed, the employee noted the lack of communication between the aircraft and the control tower. He continued looking south, where the aircraft would have appeared, and saw a sudden burst of flame near the Paraguay Aero Club, south of the airport.
Survivors and Damage
Five passengers and three crew members survived. The aircraft was completely destroyed by fire, which broke out immediately after impact.
Probable Cause
According to the official investigation, the accident was due to a piloting error in making the approach circuit on instruments. An error in timing resulted in the final approach being initiated at too great a distance from the airport. Evidence supporting this finding includes the landing gear being found extended, flaps down, and mixture control set to 'rich', all indicating the aircraft was in a ready-to-land condition.