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Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 (November 1956)

27 Nov 1956 · 18 km (11.3 mls) ESE of Caracas Airport, Venezuela

Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Lockheed L-749 Constellation · Controlled flight into terrain

From John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Maiquetía Simón Bolívar International Airport (CCS)

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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
25 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
25
Survivors
0
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

Lockheed L-749 Constellation

Aircraft type
Lockheed L-749
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
YV-C-AMA
Onboard fatalities
25
Route
From John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)To Maiquetía Simón Bolívar International Airport (CCS)

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

Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Idlewild International Airport, New York to Caracas International Airport in Caracas, Venezuela. During the November 27, 1956 operation of the flight, by a Lockheed L-749 Constellation, registration YV-C-AMA and named Jose Marti, the aircraft, piloted by French captain Marcel Combalbert, crashed into a mountain near Caracas, Venezuela. All 25 passengers and crew on board were killed. This occurred just five months after another operation of this flight, with a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, ended with a fatal crash as well.

Crash

Flight 253 was flying through a rainstorm as it approached Caracas Airport. It was approximately 18 kilometers from the runway when the aircraft struck the southern ridge of Cerro El Ávila at an altitude of 6700 feet.

Ten Americans were among those killed in the crash. St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Charlie Peete, his wife, and their three small children were among the victims. Peete was traveling to Venezuela in order to play winter ball there.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 (November 1956)” (revision 1372680681, 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: Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 (November 1956)
Article
Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 (November 1956)
Revision
1372680681 · 2026-09-01 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q6553354
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 "Linea Aeropostal Venezolana Flight 253 (November 1956)" (page 34610436, revision 1372680681)
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.