Passengers 47 Fatalities 51 Date 11 January 1995 Injuries (nonfatal) 1 Passenger count 47 | Crew 5 Survivors 1 Number of deaths 51 Survivor 1 | |
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Summary Altimeter failure, loss of situational awareness by crew Similar Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 56, 1995 Borodianka mid‑air co, Nigeria Airways Flight 357, Cameroon Airlines Flight 3701, Aviateca Flight 901 | ||
Intercontinental de Aviación Flight 256 was a scheduled flight from El Dorado International Airport, Bogotá on a service to Rafael Núñez International Airport, Cartagena and San Andrés. The flight was scheduled to depart at 12:10 but was delayed due to a failure on the previous flight. The flight eventually departed at 18:45. During the approach to Cartagena the aircraft passed through FL200 20,000 feet (6,100 m) at 19:33. The last radio contact occurred when the flight was cleared further down to 8,000 ft (2,400 m). The plane impacted with the ground in a marshy lagoon near María La Baja, 56 km (35 mi) from Cartagena Airport. The probable cause of the crash was a wrong setting of the altimeter. Altimeter number 1 indicated 16,200 ft (4,900 m) on impact. The only survivor was a 9-year-old girl who apparently fell out before the aircraft caught fire.