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2016 Ecuadorian Army Arava crash

15 Mar 2016 · Hacienda La Palmira, Pastaza, Ecuador

IAI Arava 201 · Crashed into high ground, poor weather

From Rio Amazonas Airport (PTZ) to an unrecorded destination

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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
22 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
22
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
Military

IAI Arava 201

Aircraft type
Iai Arava 201
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
E-206
Onboard fatalities
22
Route
From Rio Amazonas Airport (PTZ)To not recorded

Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.

From the Wikipedia article

On 15 March 2016, an IAI Arava transport aircraft of the Ecuadorian Army crashed in the eastern part of the country. The accident is the deadliest involving an IAI Arava, and the single deadliest incident suffered by the Ecuadorian military.

Accident

The Arava plane took off from the Río Amazonas military airport in Shell in Pastaza Province at 12:51 local time. It was carrying 19 Ecuadorian paratroopers belonging to the 9th Special Forces ('Patria') Brigade, for a skydiving exercise; as well as 3 crew members (2 pilots and a mechanic). The pilot had reportedly asked for permission to return to the airport due to adverse weather conditions shortly before contact was lost with the aircraft. The aircraft crashed at 14:30 local time in a mountainous area, killing all 22 on board.

Two Ecuadorian Air Force helicopters and ground patrols were dispatched to search for the missing plane, and the flight debris was located near the Fátima peak of Hacienda La Palmira.

Text from the Wikipedia article “2016 Ecuadorian Army Arava crash” (revision 1339310619, 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: 2016 Ecuadorian Army Arava crash
Article
2016 Ecuadorian Army Arava crash
Revision
1339310619 · 2026-02-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q24907737
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 "2016 Ecuadorian Army Arava crash" (page 49799426, revision 1339310619)
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site
Map position
Wikipedia article coordinates
Aircraft, operator and route
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
Operation
operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
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.