| Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046 | |
| Occurrence Type: | Accident |
| Date: | June 12, 1988 |
| Type: | Undershot the runway due to pilot error and poor visibility |
| Site: | Near Libertador General José de San Martín Airport, Posadas, Argentina |
| Aircraft Type: | McDonnell Douglas MD-81 |
| Operator: | Austral Líneas Aéreas |
| Iata: | AU046 |
| Tail Number: | N1003G |
| Origin: | Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, Buenos Aires |
| Stopover: | Resistencia International Airport |
| Destination: | Posadas Libertador General José de San Martín Airport |
| Passengers: | 55 |
| Crew: | 6 |
| Fatalities: | 61 |
| Survivors: | 0 |
Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 046 was an Argentine scheduled domestic flight from Buenos Aires to Posadas, via Resistencia, that undershot the runway at Libertador General Jose de San Martin Airport in Posadas on June 12, 1988, in conditions of poor visibility. All 55 passengers and 6 crew on the McDonnell Douglas MD-81 were killed in the crash.[1]
Flight 046, operated by a McDonnell Douglas MD-81, departed Buenos Aires' Aeroparque Jorge Newbery to Resistencia at 7:04 local time, and departed from Resistencia to Posadas at 8:40 after a 20-minute stopover. At 9:09, the crew of Flight 046 made radio contact with Posadas air traffic control, and 7 minutes later, the flight was cleared for an approach to Runway 01. Shortly after, the aircraft struck the top of a eucalyptus tree and crashed, 3km (02miles) short of the runway. All on board perished.[2]
The investigation into the disaster concluded that the main factor in the crash was that the crew attempted to land below the indicated minimum weather conditions for the instrument approach.[3]