Farmers who saw the accident told the Public Prosecution Service that the plane had only been in the air for two minutes. La República also writes that the pilot would have noticed the malfunction during the flight. He wanted to return to the airport, but the plane crashed and caught fire.
Gustavo Huerta, director of Ica’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism, said the crash may have been caused by checking the plane only in the morning. This is common practice at the airport.
Airlines are free to determine themselves when they carry out a check during the day. “As far as I’m concerned, there should be a special workshop of the aviation authority at every aerodrome. As soon as a plane returns, it can immediately be checked whether there is a malfunction,” adds Huerta.
Power over the wheel
Three tourists from the Netherlands were killed in the plane crash last Friday. The other occupants of the small plane also died: two Chilean passengers and the two Peruvian pilots.
It concerns three Dutch young men, including two teenagers aged 18 and 19. The other victim from our country is 30 years old. The two teenagers come from the Veluwe, the other man from Utrecht. The aircraft was a single-engine Cessna 207 of the Aero Santos company.
A statement from authorities said the plane had just left María Reiche airport when it ran into trouble. It also stated that the pilot wanted to cross the famous Nazca lines, but that he lost control of the vehicle.