Aerocon

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    Bolivian Plane Crashes, Killing , Passenger Manifest


    Updated
    An Aerocon Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner en route from the Teniente Jorge Henrich Arauz Airport developed a problem as it caught fire upon landing at 4 p.m. at Riberalta Airport.

    Three officials of the Governorate of Beni were aboard.

    The Bolivian aircraft came to rest wheels up and was consumed by the fire.

    Of the sixteen passengers and two crew, eight aboard sustained fatal injuries. The pilot and copilot survived but are in grave condition. Riberalta Hospital had previously reported eight dead and six wounded. The dead were significantly burned and will have to be identified through DNA.

    The rainfall was heavy as the plane landed, and may have exacerbated the pilot’s difficulty.

    Eight of the injured were taken to the hospital Riberalta while two took him to the clinic December 4. While the pilots were evacuated to the city of Guayaramerín and then transferred to Santa Cruz.

    Weather about the time of the accident (16:00 LT / 20:00 Z):
    SLRI 032100Z 19005KT 3000 -RA BKN004 FEW020CB OVC070 24/24 Q1009
    SLRI 031900Z 15008KT 5000 VCSH BKN015 FEW020CB BKN200 28/23 Q1010

    Injured

    1.- Oscar Adrés Tacata Sossa
    2.- Alejandra Azad Lazo
    3.- Leslie Pérez Gil
    4.- Zenón Peréz Ramírez
    5.- Jenny Gutiérrez Farah
    6.- Cecilia Tapia Salinas ( copiloto)
    7.- Kevin Roca Alpire ( Piloto)
    8.- Jorge Ernesto Morán Cruz
    9.- Jackeline Ruiz Suárez
    10.- Luis Alberto Suárez Velarde

    Deceased
    1.- Fernando Chacón
    2.- Daniel Ishita Guarena
    3.- Herlan Rodríguez
    4.- Rober Suárez Vargas
    5.- Shirley Ojopi Carrillo
    6.- Maria Georgia Saucedo
    7.- Rosio Álvarez Azad (menor de seis años)
    8.- Rodrigo Molina Peñaloza

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    Update: Aerocon Found in Bolivian Amazon Jungle, One Survivor


    One of the SA-227’s in the Aerocon fleet.
    CP-2548 is missing. (CP-2527 is pictured )

    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Robert Domandl

    Minor Vidal, the sole survivor was found in the Amazon jungle. Minor said “I did not eat anything, nothing, just drank my urine when I was thirsty. The first night I slept on the plane and two nights in the jungle. I did not understand why the plane was flying so low. Then there was a heavy blow. I do not remember more. When I awoke, I saw the airplane game, could not move. I stayed in my seat, I was in the back of the plane. The next day [Wednesday], I went and did my blood with an arrow on a shirt to get me. They were all dead. I walked day and night to be found by the patrol.”

    Colombian Oscar Valencia, the William Lara Ecuador and Bolivian indigenous leader Eddy Martinez died in the crash.
    What: Aerocon Swearingen SA-227 Metroliner en route from Santa Cruz to Trinidad Bolivia
    Where: Trinidad
    When: Sep 6th 2011
    Who: 7 passengers, 2 crew
    Why: On final approach to Trinidad, the pilots lost contact with ATC.
    The instrument approach to the airport requires overflying North and then turning back. (See the airport chart below.)

    The last contact was reporting the flight was “in the procedure turn” but the flight did not land on the runway, and went missing in a mountainous area.

    Rescuers reached the crash site in the afternoon of Sept 8 and confirmed that there were survivors.

    The wreckage of the plane was located 30km north-east of the city of Trinidad, in the Amazon jungle province of Beni. Chacon reported on thursday that a helicopter crew had seen the plane “completely destroyed” in a difficult-to-reach jungle region.

    Six bodies were recoverable immediately when the wreckage was found. Two bodies trapped in the wreckage required rescue teams and equipment.

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    Bolivia Flight Missing, 9 aboard


    One of the SA-227’s in the Aerocon fleet. CP-2548 is missing. (CP-2527 is pictured
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Robert Domandl

    What: Aerocon Swearingen SA-227 Metroliner en route from Santa Cruz to Trinidad Bolivia
    Where: Trinidad
    When: Sep 6th 2011
    Who: 7 passengers, 2 crew
    Why: On final approach to Trinidad, the pilots lost contact with ATC.

    The instrument approach to the airport requires overflying North and then turning back.
    The last contact was reporting the flight was “in the procedure turn” but the flight did not land on the runway, and is currently considered to be missing in a mountainous area.