Avianca Flight 03
Douglas C-54 · Stall following false fire alarm and subsequent pilot error
From Rafael Nuñez International Airport (CTG) to El Dorado International Airport (BOG)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 56 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- Unknown
- Survivors
- 8
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
Douglas C-54
- Aircraft type
- Douglas C-54
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- HK-730
- Operator
- Avianca
- Onboard fatalities
- 56
- Route
- From Rafael Nuñez International Airport (CTG)To El Dorado International Airport (BOG)
Not plotted · Not plotted: the Wikipedia article gives no coordinates, and its site names no town or airport that matches exactly.
From the Wikipedia article
Avianca Flight 03 was a passenger flight from Cartagena, Colombia, to Bogotá, Colombia, that crashed on January 14, 1966. After takeoff, as the aircraft reached 100 ft, it stalled and crashed into shallow water. After a 14-month investigation, engine failure was found to be a possible, but unproven, cause. Poor maintenance and inadequate inspections were also suspected.
Sequence of events
At 20:50 on January 14, the aircraft was cleared for takeoff. The plane reached 70 ft after rotation, but then began to descend. It then crashed into the sea 1,300 meters from the airport runway. Out of the 64 people aboard, only 8 survived.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Avianca Flight 03” (revision 1372083531, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: Avianca Flight 03
- Article
- Avianca Flight 03
- Revision
- 1372083531 · 2026-08-30 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q4828576
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "Avianca Flight 03" (page 14515037, revision 1372083531)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- none
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- flight number in the article title
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.