Airplane Crashes After Takeoff In Medellín, 8 Fatalities

Today a small twin engine aircraft crashed on approach to Medellín’s Olaya Herrera municipal airport that primarily serves domestic charter and private aircraft. Aerocivil, Colombia’s civil aviation authority reports all aboard perished, and while several structures were damaged, no one on the ground was hurt.

Aerocivil announced that the Piper Navajo twin engine aircraft with registration HK-5121 was carrying two crew members and six passengers. The DAGRD (Administrative Department of Disaster Risk Management), Medellín’s emergency response authority reported that the plane crashed into six buildings in the Belén Rosales neighborhood near the airport, affecting 14 homes and one office. Five buildings were lightly damaged, while two suffered severe damage. Four were ordered evacuated as unsafe after the crash, affecting 17 inhabitants.

Aerocivil reports that after the plane took off, the pilot declared an emergency due to the loss of one of the two engines, and the plane could not thus gain sufficient altitude to clear obstacles.

Above photo: Colombian authorities inspect damage in Medellín’s Belen neighborhood after the crash. (Photo: DAGRD)