Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 5 February 1960 |
Summary | Crashed shortly after take-off |
Site | Near Cochabamba, Bolivia |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Douglas DC-4 |
Operator | Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano |
Registration | CP-609 |
Flight origin | Jorge Wilstermann International Airport, Cochabamba, Bolivia |
Destination | El Alto Airport, La Paz, Bolivia |
Occupants | 59 |
Passengers | 55 |
Crew | 4 |
Fatalities | 59 |
Survivors | 0 |
On 5 February 1960, a Douglas DC-4 passenger aircraft of Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano on a domestic flight from Cochabamba to La Paz, Bolivia, crashed shortly after take-off. All 59 people on board were killed.[1][2]
Five minutes after taking off from Cochabamba's Jorge Wilstermann Airport, one of the plane's four engines reportedly caught fire.[3][4] The aircraft subsequently crashed into a lagoon in the Andes, some 20 miles from the city of Cochabamba.[5][6][7] It was the worst aviation accident in Bolivia's history at the time.[8] The pilot was one of the airline's most experienced aviators, especially over the mountains of Bolivia.[9][10]
Out of the 59 onboard, one child survived the initial crash, but died due to their injuries while being taken to a hospital by rescuers.[5] Among the passengers were four families.[11]
The airline canceled all flights the day of the crash for mourning.[11] The accident was blamed on a technical defect.[12]