1972 Las Palomas mid-air collision
On 29 July 1972, Avianca Flight 630, operating a scheduled domestic passenger flight within Colombia, flying from La Vanguardia Airport to Los Colonizadores Airport, with stopovers at Paz de Ariporo Airport and Santiago Pérez Quiroz Airport, collided with another Avianca flight, operating as Flight 626, also operating a scheduled domestic passenger flight within Colombia from La Vanguardia Airport to Las Gaviotas Airport, with stopovers in 3 different cities. The resulting mid-air collision killed all 21 occupants on board Flight 630 and all 17 occupants on board Flight 626, resulting in 38 total fatalities.
Background
Flight 630
Aircraft
The aircraft operating Flight 630 was a 29 year old Douglas DC-3A, built in 1943 and registered as HK-107, with the manufacturing number being 11723. It was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines.Crew
On board flight 630 were 3 crew members, consisting of Captain Alvaro Gómez, First Officer Carlos López, and Flight Engineer Gustavo Amortequl.Flight 626
Aircraft
The aircraft operating as Flight 626 was also a 29 year old Douglas DC-3A built in 1943, with the registration HK-1341 and manufacturing number 11716. It was also equipped with two Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines.Crew
There were also three crew members on board Flight 626, consisting of Captain Enrique Medina, First Officer Julio Barona, and Flight Engineer Martin Correal.No flight attendants were on board either aircraft.