AIRES Flight 585

AIRES Flight 585 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Florencia, Colombia to Cali, Colombia with an intermediate stopover in Neiva, Colombia. On 23 January 1985, the Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante operating the flight crashed into a mountainside at an altitude of 8,600 feet while on approach to Cali, Colombia, killing all 17 occupants onboard. The crash of flight 585 occurred concurrently with the crash of Aerolineas Centrales de Colombia (ACES) Flight 52, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 which impacted the side of the Cerro el Plateado mountains at 11,500 feet near the Alto Concordia summit, killing all 23 occupants onboard, of which two were children. The two aircraft crashed only minutes apart.

Accident

The flight from Florencia to Neiva was uneventful. The flight took off from Neiva at 09:41 local time for the second leg to Cali. It cruised at an altitude of 14,500 feet. Weather was poor with low visibility, mist and intermittent showers on the flight path. On approach to Cali, the crew radioed the tower in Barranquilla that they were about to land and had passed the Tulua waypoint and descended to 13,000 feet. The crew then stated to the tower that they were descending from 13,000 feet. This was the last transmission received from the aircraft. Moments later, at an altitude of 8,000 feet, the crew stated, "We are in an emergency", informing the tower that there was a problem with one of the engines. A transcript of the CVR recording and conversations to the tower is below (translated from the original Spanish):

585 – Cali Control, two six three eight (initial contact)

CTL – Two six three eight (callsign), go ahead

585 – Good morning, two six three eight, Neiva is our station, we are approaching Tuluá

CTL – Approaching Tuluá, visual flight plan correct?

CTL – What is your altitude?

585 – We are descending from thirteen thousand feet

CTL – Maintain altitude, notify when passing Guacarí. A Cessna 152 left Tuluá one minute ago; starting visual descent at eight hundred feet towards Palmaseca. Visibility is progressively improving to the North, approximately twenty kilometers. El Cerrito is now in sight. The ceiling is approximately fifteen thousand feet to the north.

585 – Received. Please confirm the QNH for me

CTL – Three zero eight

(Another aircraft interrupts mid-conversation):

AVA – Cali Control, Avianca seven two seven, good morning, proceeding as filed, climbing to four thousand feet

CTL – Avianca seven two seven received, report Tuluá, report passing flight level zero nine zero

AVA – Okay, proceeding as filed. We will call at zero nine zero

CTL – Correct. For your information, an Aires Embraer left Tuluá two minutes ago descending visual towards Palmaseca; starting descent from one three zero towards Palmaseca visual

AVA – Okay, understood. What is the altitude?

CTL – He just descended from thirteen thousand feet on a visual course towards Palmaseca.

(About five seconds of silence pass and "I DOUBT IT" is heard. It could not be determined who said it. A minute and a half after this last transmission, Avianca HK-727 calls "blind" and asks:)

AVA – What altitude is the Bandeirante at?

CTL – Two six three eight, Control, what is your level?

585 – Two six three eight is to the east of ECHO, passing ten thousand feet

(The transmission is interrupted due to interfering transmission and only "...towards Palmira" is heard. Possibly referring to flight 2638)

CTL – Understood, Avianca seven two seven (HK-727). What is your altitude?

AVA – Seven two seven, we are passing flight level zero seven zero and twenty-two miles (DME distance from Cali VOR)

Moments later, flight 585 crashed into Cerro Tesorito, a mountain near the town of La Magdalena at an altitude of 8,600 feet, killing all 17 passengers and crew onboard.