2001 Colombia Let L-410 crash
Heliandes Let L-410 Turbolet · Controlled flight into terrain
From Jose Maria Córdova International Airport (MDE) to El Caraño Airport (UIB)
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
- 16 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- Unknown
- 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
- 0
- 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
- Unknown
Let L-410 Turbolet
- Aircraft type
- Let L-410
- 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-4175X
- Operator
- Heliandes
- Onboard fatalities
- 16
- Route
- From Jose Maria Córdova International Airport (MDE)To El Caraño Airport (UIB)
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
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
On 16 December 2001 a Let L-410UVP-E10A operating a domestic flight from Medellín to Quibdó crashed into a mountain, killing its 16 occupants.
Accident
After takeoff from Medellín Airport, the crew began a right turn and continued climbing. In poor visibility due to clouds, with towering cumulus and rain, at an altitude of 9,200 feet, the aircraft struck the slope of Mount El Silencio near San Antonio de Prado. The aircraft was destroyed by the impact forces and a post-crash fire, and the 16 occupants died.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
The cause of the accident was controlled flight into terrain because the crew did not comply with the departure route, nor with the standard operating procedures of the Colombian airline Heliandes.
Translated into English with AI assistance from the Spanish Wikipedia article “Accidente del Let L-410 en Colombia de 2001” (revision 175234885, retrieved 2026-09-19) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out; the translation may contain errors, and long articles were cut to their first 700 words. Read the article
Sources
Spanish Wikipedia article: Accidente del Let L-410 en Colombia de 2001
- Translation
- Into English with AI assistance; names of linked operators and aircraft types from Wikidata. It may contain errors.
- Revision
- 175234885 · 2026-09-07 · retrieved 2026-09-19
- Wikidata
- Q141165894
- 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
- es Wikipedia article "Accidente del Let L-410 en Colombia de 2001" (page 11582144, revision 175234885), translated into English with AI assistance
- 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
- not stated in the Wikipedia article's infobox or opening paragraph
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Spanish Wikipedia article's infobox, translated into English with AI assistance, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.