Iberia Flight 602

EC-ATV, the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date	7 January 1972
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain
Site	Sierra de Atalayasa, Spain 38°54′13″N 1°15′04″E / 38.90361°N 1.25111°E / 38.90361; 1.25111
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle
Aircraft name	Maestro Victoria
Operator	Iberia
Registration	EC-ATV
Flight origin	Valencia Airport
Destination	Ibiza Airport
Occupants	104
Passengers	98
Crew	6
Fatalities	104
Survivors	0

Iberia Flight 602 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight operated by the Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle that took off from Valencia Airport in Valencia, Spain, bound for Ibiza Airport on the Balearic island of Ibiza which crashed into a mountain near the airport. All 98 passengers and 6 crew died in the crash.

Aircraft and crew

The aircraft was a Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle that first flew on 25 June 1963 and was powered by two Rolls-Royce RA-29 Mk.533R Avon turbojet engines. Delivered to Iberia on 9 July, the aircraft was initially named Tomás Luis de Victoria after the Spanish Composer of the same name, though this was later shortened to Maestro Victoria.^[1][2]

Flight 602 was under the command of 37-year-old captain José Luis Ballester Sepúlveda, with 7,000 flying hours' experience, first officer Jesús Montesinos Sánchez, and flight engineer Vicente Rodríguez Mesa.^[3][4]

The crash

Flight 602 was a domestic service flight that took off from Valencia Airport bound for Ibiza. On board were 6 crew and 98 passengers, most of whom were Valencia natives returning to Ibiza for work after the holidays.^[5]

At approximately 12:15 p.m., the aircraft's captain radioed Ibiza Airport, requesting permission to descend to 5,500 feet (1,700 m). Ibiza Airport sources reported that he also said, "Get me a beer ready, we are here."^[5]

The aircraft was approaching Runway 07 when it descended below 2,000 feet (610 m).^[2] Reportedly, neither the captain nor the co-pilot noticed the dangerous descent, as they were discussing a football match with the airport tower controller.^[2] Flight 602 struck Mount Atalayasa approximately 90 feet (27 m) below its 1,515-foot (462 m) summit.^[5][6] The aircraft exploded on impact. All 98 passengers and 6 crew on board were killed.^[3]

At the time of the crash, visibility was approximately 1,515 miles (2,438 kilometers) and the weather was described as high overcast with broken clouds.^{[citation needed]}

Cause

It was ruled that the pilot had failed to maintain the minimum flight altitude for a visual approach to Runway 07.^[7]