Accident Summary
A flight traveling between Panama City and Maracaibo crashed into Alto del Cedro Mountain in the Serranía de Perijá, resulting in the death of all 23 persons aboard. The aircraft carried a crew of 6 and 17 passengers.
Sequence of Events
The crew reported their position over the Riohacha intersection at 2351 LT at an altitude of 15,000 feet, with an estimated arrival at Maracaibo-Grano de Oro Airport at 0030 LT. At 0015 LT, the crew stated they were 35 miles out at an altitude of 10,000 feet. The last contact with the aircraft occurred at 0022 LT. The aircraft subsequently crashed on Alto del Cedro Mountain.
Probable Cause
According to the official investigation, the accident was caused by a premature descent resulting from the pilot's failure to allow an adequate margin for an altered flight course and the shortage of navigational facilities in the area. It was also reported that the pilot turned northwest upon reaching position Tango/2 instead of turning at Barranquilla, leading the aircraft toward a wrong position 45 miles from the Riohacha intersection. The pilot did not account for this discrepancy when calculating the distance to Maracaibo. It is likely that the pilot, when reporting being 35 miles from Maracaibo, had seen the Carrasquero lights and surrounding gas flares through a thin layer of cloud and mistakenly believed they were the lights of Maracaibo. The pilot had no definitive way to determine his position in the area and should have taken greater precautions to avoid descending at a mistaken location. The best alternative would have been to remain at a safer altitude until either sighting the Maracaibo lights (not the glare) or obtaining oscillation of the radio compass needle over Maracaibo.