On 26 August 1981, Aeropesca Flight 221 departed Florencia, Colombia, bound for Neiva. The scheduled domestic service was operated by a four-engine Vickers Viscount 745D, registration HK-1320, carrying 44 passengers and six crew members. None of them would survive.
The aircraft, named Ciudad de Popayan, had first flown in Britain on 22 February 1956. It was delivered to Capital Airlines in the United States before later serving with Austrian Airlines and Aloha Airlines. Aeropesca acquired the aircraft in 1971, and by the time of the accident it had accumulated a long operational history.
Flight 221 was operating from Gustavo Artunduaga Paredes Airport at Florencia toward Neiva. The route crossed difficult mountainous terrain, where weather and terrain clearance were critical considerations.
The aircraft took off and continued toward its destination. Instead of operating under instrument flight rules, however, the crew continued the flight under visual flight rules. The problem was that the weather along the route was not suitable for such an operation.
Cloud and poor visibility concealed the surrounding mountains. According to the later investigation, the crew continued flying visually even though the meteorological conditions were below the minimums established by Colombia’s Manual of Air Routes.
The danger was particularly severe because the aircraft was flying below the altitude required to provide safe terrain clearance. A contemporary report based on the Aeronáutica Civil investigation stated that a visual flight on this route required an ascent to 13,500 feet, while the aircraft struck the mountain at about 8,500 feet. The report also stated that the terrain could have been avoided with only a small lateral deviation, but the mountain was hidden by cloud.
At about 15:45 local time, the Viscount struck the jungle-covered slopes of Mount Santa Elena, a mountain peak approximately 48 kilometres north of Florencia. The aircraft was destroyed and caught fire..
