Before we get into listing all the accidents involving Colombian carrier Intercontinental de Aviación S.A. let's first take a look at the airline and see how it came to be. Founded on October 16, 1960, as Aeropesca Colombia, the airline flew to locations in Colombia and neighboring countries from its main hub, El Dorado International Airport (BOG) in Bogotá.
Following a string of accidents, the airline was sold to a group of new investors in 1982. In an attempt to distance themselves from the crashes, they immediately changed the name of the airline to Intercontinental de Aviacion.
Things went well for a while, and the airline was seen as stiff competition for Colombian national flag carrier Avianca. Sadly, the airline's luck did not last, and it was forced to cease operations following the crash of West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 in Venezuela in September 2005.
The Colombian authorities did a safety check of Colombian registered airlines
Following the crash, the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority mandated that all airlines undergo a special inspection of their aircraft and maintenance facilities. Intercontinental de Aviacion did not pass and ceased operations in September 2005.
Accidents involving Aeropesca Colombia
On November 4, 1965, an Aeropesca Colombia Catalina flying boat went missing while on a domestic flight from Villavicencio. Both pilots were killed in the crash, but all four passengers survived and were found nine days later near the Peruvian border.
On July 11, 1966, during a flight from Bogotá to Buenos Aires in Argentina, a Curtiss C-46 Commando went missing while flying over mountainous terrain. The wreckage of the plane was found seven days later, 124 miles south of Santiago, Chile. All eight occupants of the aircraft died in the crash.
On January 5, 1974, a 31-year-old Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar overshot the runway at Bogotá Airport and came to rest in a drainage ditch due to a landing gear failure. All five occupants of the plane survived.
On August 14, 1978, a 33-year-old Curtiss C-46 Commando crashed into Mount Paramo de Laura near Tota, Colombia, after drifting off course during bad weather. Certified to only carry six passengers when the plane crashed, it had 15 passengers onboard. All three crew members and the 15 passengers died in the crash.
On August 26, 1981, Aeropesca Colombia Flight 221, a domestic flight between Florencia-Gustavo Artunduaga Paredes Airport (FLA) and Neiva Airport (NVA) crashed after flying into Mount Saint Elena. Onboard the 25-year-old Vickers Viscount were six crew members and 44 passengers, who all died in the accident.
On March 26, 1982, a 24-year-old Aeropesca Colombia Vickers Viscount crashed into a mountain near Queate while operating a domestic flight between Villavicencio-La Vanguardia Airport (VVC) and : Bogotá-Eldorado Airport (BOG). All 21 passengers and crew died in the accident.
Accidents involving Intercontinental de Aviacion
On January 11, 1995, a 29-year-old McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14 operating as Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256 crashed while on final approach to Cartagena-Rafael Núñez Airport (CTG). All five crew members and all but one of the 47 passengers died in the crash.
On September 14, 1997, a seven-year-old Bombardier Dash 8 Q300's undercarriage collapsed after landing at Matecaña Airport. The plane was operating a regularly scheduled domestic flight from Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport (ADZ) in San Andreas to Pereira-Matecaña Airport (PEI) with a stop in Bogotá-Eldorado Airport (BOG). All 44 passengers and crew survived.
On June 14, 2002, a 36-year-old Intercontinental de Aviación McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14 operating as Flight 8883 overshot the runway on landing at Benito Salas Airport (NVA). The pilot had put the plane down 1,700 feet past the runway's threshold and failed to stop the aircraft before running out of runway. None of the 71 passengers and crew were injured. The plane, however, was not as fortunate and needed to be written off.
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