1967 Cordillera Carpish Faucett Perú Douglas C-54 crash explained

Occurrence Type:Accident
1967 Cordillera Carpish Faucett Perú Douglas C-54 crash
Date:8 December 1967
Type:Controlled flight into terrain
Site:Cordillera de Carpish, Peru
Occupants:72
Passengers:66
Crew:6
Fatalities:72
Survivors:0
Aircraft Type:Douglas C-54
Tail Number:OB-R-148
Operator:Faucett Perú
Origin:Lima Airport
Lima, Peru
Stopover:Huánuco Airport
Huánuco, Peru
Destination:Tingo Maria Airport
Tingo Maria, Peru

A Faucett Perú operated domestic scheduled LimaHuánucoTingo Maria passenger flight, operated with a Douglas C-54, crashed on 8 December 1967 against a mountain at Cordillera de Carpish. All 66 passengers and 6 crew members aboard were killed.

Accident details

The Douglas C-54 operated by Faucett Perú was on 8 December 1967 a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Lima via Huánuco to Tingo Maria.[1] The involved aircraft involved had made its first flight in 1944 and had registration: OB-R-148 and MSN: 10284. From Lima there were 65 people onboard: 60 passengers and 5 crew members. All people onboard were Peruvian citizens except for three Italian citizens and two Belgian citizens.[2] After Huánuco there were 72 people on board: 66 passengers and 6 crew members.

After a short stopover in Huánuco, the airplane crashed at 12:00 near at the eastern slope near the top of a 3300 metres high mountain at Cordillera de Carpish in the Andes.[3] The burning wreckage tumbled 3,000 feet below the summit. The crash occurred within 100 metres of the highway between Lima and Tingo Maria. Motorists and police officers went to the crash site. They tried to rescue people from the airplane but could not save any lives.[4] All 72 people on board were killed. By the time that rescuers arrived at the scene, they found that looters from Huánuco had taken clothes, money, rings and other possessions from the bodies of the victims.[5]

It is assumed that due to the clouds the pilot didn’t see the mountain in time and crashed.[6]

Notes and References

  1. News: Peruviaans vliegtuig neergestort: 65 doden. Nieuwsblad van het Noorden. 9 December 1957. Delpher. nl.
  2. News: Vliegramp in Peru. Gereformeerd gezinsblad. 12 December 1957. Delpher. nl.
  3. News: Bij vliegramp in Peru 65 doden. Het Parool. 9 December 1957. Delpher. nl.
  4. News: Vliegramp in Peru. Algemeen Handelsblad. 9 December 1957. Delpher. nl.
  5. News: 'Human Vultures' Stripped Peru Plane Crash Victims . Baltimore Sun . December 11, 1967 . 3.
  6. News: Vliegramp in Peru: 65 mensen gedood. Trouw. 11 December 1957. Delpher. nl.