Date: | 24 August 2008 |
Type: | Engine failure |
Occurrence Type: | Accident |
Site: | Near Cabañas, Zacapa, east of Guatemala City |
Operator: | Aéreo Ruta Maya |
Tail Number: | TG-JCS |
Origin: | La Aurora International Airport |
Destination: | El Estor |
Passengers: | 12 |
Crew: | 2 |
Injuries: | 3 |
Fatalities: | 11 |
Survivors: | 3 |
On August 24, 2008, an Aéreo Ruta Maya Cessna Caravan 208 carrying 10 American aid workers, two Guatemalan aid agency representatives, pilot and copilot en route from La Aurora International Airport, Guatemala City to El Estor, crashed 45 minutes after takeoff. The crash killed all occupants but three aid workers. One of the survivors was Dan Liljenquist, an American businessman and politician. The aircraft went down in a field 60 miles east of Guatemala City after the pilot reported an engine failure and was attempting an emergency landing. The aid workers were members of Choice Humanitarian, a West Jordan, Utah based humanitarian group on their way to the village of Sepamac.