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 Site near María La Baja, Colombia Operator Intercontinental de Aviación 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.