Christopher Columbus expedition air crash

The Christopher Columbus expedition air crash occurred in the city of Cali, in Colombia, on 29 December 1937 in the morning hours when three aircraft were heading from this city bound for Panama. The accident left only fatalities, counting the crew and a journalist; in total 7 people lost their lives.

Chronology of the accident

On Sunday 26 December the expedition arrived in Cali, at El Guabito airport. The expedition members took a Boeing 247 bound for Bogotá where they would be received by the then president Alfonso López Pumarejo. On Tuesday 28 they returned to the city of Cali and in the afternoon Lieutenant Antonio Menéndez Peláez, together with Lieutenant Piñeiro of the Colombian army, made a flight over the Cordillera Occidental and the canyon of the Cali River. The Colombian military officers recommended following the Medellín-Turbo-Barranquilla-Cristóbal route, as the Colombian-German Air Transport Society did, and which had emergency fields in Cartago, Medellín and Barranquilla. However Menéndez rejected the idea since his wish was to head out to sea as soon as possible.

Early in the morning of 29 December the expedition began the ascent over the Cordillera Occidental following the canyon of the Cali River as far as the rural settlement of Felidia in the direction of the Pacific Ocean. They followed the Cali-Buenaventura-Cristóbal route, ignoring the advice to cross via the Vijes pass, where the height of the Cordillera and the strength of the wind were lower. Towards Buenaventura the canyon narrowed, slowing the progress of the aircraft, limiting manoeuvrability. The Santa María, captained by Menéndez, tried to make a tight 180-degree turn, but the low speed at which it was forced to fly by the narrow canyon and the proximity of dangerous cliffs caused it to stall, plunging into the area known as Las Nieves, a depression between mountains of more than 3000 metres. La Niña and La Pinta, believing that it was a manoeuvre indicated by Menéndez, followed the path, plunging into the abyss. Only the Colón, much more powerful than its companions, managed to reach La Portilla Airport in Panama.