Nazca Lines Flight Crash Kills Thirteen as Peru Suspends Aerodiana
Eleven European tourists and two Peruvian crew members died after a sightseeing aircraft reported a mechanical emergency before crashing near Nazca; investigators are examining the wreckage and final radio call.
A sightseeing flight bound for Peru’s Nazca Lines crashed on Saturday after its crew reported a mechanical problem, killing all thirteen people aboard and prompting the suspension of the operator, Aerodiana.
The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan had departed from Pisco Airport in the Ica region for an aerial tour of the Nazca Lines, the ancient desert geoglyphs whose animal and geometric forms are most clearly visible from above.
At about 1 p.m. local time, the crew reported an emergency to Nazca airfield’s control tower.
Radio contact was then lost.
The aircraft crashed near Socos in the Pueblo Nuevo district, about two kilometres from Nazca airfield.
Emergency crews confirmed that there were no survivors.
The dead included seven Italian tourists, two German tourists and two Spanish tourists.
The pilot, Américo Salazar Cuellar, and co-pilot, Irenka Guanilo del Carpio, were Peruvian.
Italian and German consular officials travelled to the scene, while the Italian authorities said victims’ families had been notified.
Rogers Valencia, Peru’s foreign trade and tourism minister, said the final transmission indicated that the aircraft was experiencing mechanical problems.
The report is a central element of the investigation, but officials have not established whether it caused the crash.
Peru’s Aviation Accident Investigation Commission is reviewing the flight path, the control-tower communication and the aircraft’s mechanical evidence.
The inquiry will also assess possible responsibility.
Aerodiana has been ordered to halt all operations until authorities verify its compliance with aviation regulations, operating procedures and safety requirements.
The suspension does not extend automatically to Pisco Airport, which officials said remained operational.
President Keiko Fujimori said a possible temporary closure of the airport was being evaluated pending formal reports from the relevant ministries.
Aerodiana said it would support the victims’ families and cooperate fully with authorities.
The company said it had operated sightseeing flights for eighteen years and maintained an "unwavering commitment" to passenger and crew safety.
The crash renews scrutiny of the aerial-tour industry around the Nazca Lines.
In 2022, five tourists and two Peruvian crew members died in another sightseeing-plane crash near the site.
A 2010 crash killed four British tourists and two Peruvian crew members.
The latest investigation will determine whether the reported emergency, aircraft condition or other operational factors led to Saturday’s disaster.
The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan had departed from Pisco Airport in the Ica region for an aerial tour of the Nazca Lines, the ancient desert geoglyphs whose animal and geometric forms are most clearly visible from above.
At about 1 p.m. local time, the crew reported an emergency to Nazca airfield’s control tower.
Radio contact was then lost.
The aircraft crashed near Socos in the Pueblo Nuevo district, about two kilometres from Nazca airfield.
Emergency crews confirmed that there were no survivors.
The dead included seven Italian tourists, two German tourists and two Spanish tourists.
The pilot, Américo Salazar Cuellar, and co-pilot, Irenka Guanilo del Carpio, were Peruvian.
Italian and German consular officials travelled to the scene, while the Italian authorities said victims’ families had been notified.
Rogers Valencia, Peru’s foreign trade and tourism minister, said the final transmission indicated that the aircraft was experiencing mechanical problems.
The report is a central element of the investigation, but officials have not established whether it caused the crash.
Peru’s Aviation Accident Investigation Commission is reviewing the flight path, the control-tower communication and the aircraft’s mechanical evidence.
The inquiry will also assess possible responsibility.
Aerodiana has been ordered to halt all operations until authorities verify its compliance with aviation regulations, operating procedures and safety requirements.
The suspension does not extend automatically to Pisco Airport, which officials said remained operational.
President Keiko Fujimori said a possible temporary closure of the airport was being evaluated pending formal reports from the relevant ministries.
Aerodiana said it would support the victims’ families and cooperate fully with authorities.
The company said it had operated sightseeing flights for eighteen years and maintained an "unwavering commitment" to passenger and crew safety.
The crash renews scrutiny of the aerial-tour industry around the Nazca Lines.
In 2022, five tourists and two Peruvian crew members died in another sightseeing-plane crash near the site.
A 2010 crash killed four British tourists and two Peruvian crew members.
The latest investigation will determine whether the reported emergency, aircraft condition or other operational factors led to Saturday’s disaster.
