Investigators yet to elaborate on nature of emergency call transmitted before Aerodiana aircraft lost contact.
Peru’s ministry of transport states that 13 people were on board a Cessna 208 Caravan involved in a fatal accident during a tourist flight over the Nazca archeological site.
None of the occupants survived the 1 August crash, it confirms.
The aircraft had two crew members and 11 passengers when it took off from Pisco airport, on the Peruvian west coast, at 12:10.
According to the ministry, it was flying over the town of Socos, in the Pueblo Nuevo district, at 13:00 when the crew “reported an emergency” to the Nazca airport tower.
It adds that “all radio contact was lost” after this transmission.
The aircraft came down in the Vista Alegre district of Nazca, the ministry says.
It identifies the airframe as OB-2001P, which was operated by the tourism carrier Aerodiana, authorised to carry out special air transport operations.
Aerodiana says it is willing to act ”fully and responsibly, in any way required” to support the inquiry.
“From the outset, we have been co-operating with the relevant authorities and providing all the information necessary for the investigation,” it adds.
“Throughout our 18 years of operation, we have maintained a constant commitment to the safety of our passengers and crews.”
Peruvian aviation acccident investigation commission CIAA and the regulatory directorate general of civil aeronautics have initiated procedures to determine the cause of the accident.
The country’s foreign trade and tourism ministry says its personnel have been on scene and are monitoring the situation.
Peru’s ombudsman’s office is insisting that a “thorough, objective, independent and swift” inquiry is conducted to determine the cause and, if necessary, establish “administrative, civil and criminal responsibilities”.
No details have been disclosed regarding the nature of the emergency reported by the crew.
Flights over Nazca allow aerial views of the large geoglyphs etched into the desert plateau some 2,000 years ago.
CIAA investigated an occurrence with another Aerodiana Cessna Caravan in January last year, which was also operating a flight from Pisco to the Nazca region.
The aircraft (OB-1870) had been flying for 8min when, owing to the failure of an internal fuel control unit component, engine parameters suddenly increased beyond operating limits.
Unable to reduce power, the crew turned back to the airport and, once the runway was in sight, carried out an engine shutdown and made an emergency landing.
None of the 14 occupants was injured, and the crew was credited with correctly executing the emergency procedure. The inquiry also found no operational, fuel, structural or organisational factors contributed to the event.
The post No survivors from Nazca sightseeing Caravan crash: Peruvian ministry first appeared on FlightGlobal.