SAETA Flight 232

SAETA Flight 232

Accident summary
Date	15 August 1976
Summary	Suspected hijack
Site	Chimborazo
Passengers	55
Crew	4
Fatalities	59
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Vickers Viscount 785D
Operator	SAETA
Flight origin	Quito, Ecuador
Destination	Cuenca, Ecuador

On 15 August 1976, SAETA Flight 232 en route from Quito, Ecuador, to Cuenca was reported missing while in flight. The SAETA-operated Vickers Viscount 785D carried 55 passengers and 4 crew members.

Searches of the possible crash area produced no results. A mid-route crash on the stratovolcano Chimborazo was considered to be most probable, though some speculated a guerrilla hijacking.^[1]

The plane was not found for 26 years. In February 2003 the aircraft and the bodies of all its 59 occupants were found by Ecuadorian climbers who were exploring a new route to Chimborazo's summit.^[2]

References

1. UPI (12 September 1976). "After a month, plane still missing". Ellensburg Daily Record (Quito, Ecuador). p. 5.
2. Associated Press (19 February 2003). "Plane crash's frozen victims found 27 years later". The Sydney Morning Herald.

External links

• Description at Aviation Safety Network