SEA Colombia accident near Cúcuta

The SEA Colombia crash near Cúcuta occurred on 4 October 1965. On that day, a SEA Colombia Curtiss C-46A broke apart in the air after an engine fire and crashed to the ground. All four people on board were killed in the accident.

Accident sequence

At 10:42 the pilots requested takeoff clearance from runway 20. The pilots were informed that the wind was blowing from a south-southeasterly direction at a speed of 18 knots. The aircraft rotated after it had rolled over 3/4 of the runway. After lift-off, the pilots initiated a turn over the city in order to overfly the departure airport while continuing to gain altitude. At 10:58 the pilots reported that they were departing towards the south and would climb under visual flight to an altitude of 7,500 feet. They gave their estimated time over Santo Domingo as 11:13. When the aircraft was at an altitude of 4,500 to 5,000 feet, flames suddenly came out of the right engine. The pilots attempted to turn back to Cúcuta in order to make an emergency landing there. During the return flight, the aircraft structure had been so weakened by the fire that a structural failure occurred: the starboard engine and wing tore off the aircraft. The rest of the aircraft then rolled to the left and finally crashed to the ground at Cerro del Espinazo. On impact at 11:05 local time, the aircraft was completely destroyed; all four occupants were killed.