The last plane crash in Death Route, as a section that preceded the old Quito airport was called, happened on the afternoon of March 19, 2009. It was one of the most tragic in the history of the city. In the quiet and exclusive neighborhood of González Suárez, located in the north of the city, daily life was interrupted by an accident similar to those that occurred on December 10 and 22, 1992.
According to reports published in 2009 by RTVE, El Nuevo Herald and EFE, it was around 5:30 p.m. (Ecuador time) when the tragedy occurred. A military plane, identified as a Beechcraft with registration AEE-101, was approaching the old Quito airport, located in the center of the city. However, dense fog covered the area, making visibility difficult and creating adverse landing conditions.
As happens in tragedies, fate intervened at that fateful moment. The plane, carrying three military crew members and two civilians, including the pilot’s wife and son, lost control and crashed into a four-story residential building known as Linda Vista. The collision was followed by a burst of flames that engulfed the property, spreading panic among nearby residents and passersby.
The magnitude of the incident became evident as the minutes passed. Emergency teams, including the Ecuadorian Red Cross, quickly mobilized to the scene of the accident to provide medical assistance and emotional support to the victims and their families, according to local media. The scene was chaotic, with injured people being treated at the scene and others rushed to nearby medical centers.
The hours after the crash were marked by confusion and uncertainty. Local and national authorities rushed to launch investigations to determine the causes of the accident and prevent future tragedies. The Army’s Accident Investigation Board (JIA) took the lead in the investigation, while the Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation led by prosecutor Henry Estrada, from the Crimes Against Life Unit, according to El Comercio.
The first information from RTVE confirmed that the accident resulted in the loss of seven lives, including the three crew members of the military plane and four civilians. Among the victims were the pilot, Major Julio Zaldumbide, his wife, Claudia Uscocovich, and his son Julio Andrés; the co-pilot, second lieutenant Jorge Zurita; the mechanic Mario Figueroa. The impact was not limited to the plane’s occupants. Two people who lived in the building, including a woman identified as Elena Reascos, lost their lives in the accident.
The military plane crash revived the debate about air safety in Quito, especially considering its geographic location and the adverse weather conditions the city often faces. The González Suárez neighborhood, where the accident occurred, was known as “the route of death” due to previous aerial incidents in the area.
Infobae spoke with one of the victims of the 2009 tragedy. This person, who preferred to keep his name confidential, said that, luckily, he was not in his apartment, nor was his family there, at the time of the collision. This person, like others, lost everything and was compensated by the State, but signed a confidentiality agreement that prevents him from revealing the amount he received. However, he says that after being left with “only the clothes for the day,” the state compensation allowed him to afford a new apartment with all the appliances and he was also able to acquire a second property.
According to Quito’s Runway Safety Team (RST), from 1949 to 2012, 19 aircraft accidents were recorded in the city: 9 were runway departures and 10 occurred near the airport.
One of those was the tragic accident of the Cubana de Aviación plane. This, considered the biggest air tragedy in Ecuador It happened because a plane didn’t take off. What promised to be a safe trip to Havana, Cuba, turned into a painful experience for those who boarded the flight 389. On August 29, 1998, around noon, the Tupolev Tu-154M aircraft, manufactured in the former Soviet Union, was preparing to take off from the old Mariscal Sucre airport in Quito, which at that time was located in the north center of the city. There were 91 people on the flight. The travel plan indicated that they would leave Quito for Guayaquil and then to Havana. The first section would only take around 40 minutes.
At the end of the boarding, the 77 passengers and the 14 crew members were preparing to leave the runway. When the pilots started the plane they realized that the engines were not responding, there was a blockage. However, after inspection, flight 389 was authorized to fly, it was 12:50 p.m.
Twelve minutes after receiving flight authorization, the plane was ready to take off. At Air Traffic Control you hear: “Flight 389, cleared for takeoff, runway 17, wind 160º at 8 knots. Initial promotion to level 230″. Everything seemed to be going well.
According to aeronautical popularizer Pedro Carvalho on his Twitter account, when the plane had reached rotation speed and began to raise the nose (the nose of the plane), the pilots were unable to make the aircraft ascend. Upon realizing what was happening, the captain in command decided to abort the takeoff, the reverses were activated and the brakes were applied. However, there were only 800 meters of track left.
With the brakes at bay, the tragedy had begun. ANDThe plane broke down. Barely a minute had passed since takeoff began when Flight 389 crossed the airport fence, crossed the avenue and collided with two houses and a mechanical workshop at more than 200 km/h. The burning aircraft stopped in the middle of a soccer field, where several children were playing.
The air tragedy of Flight 389 claimed the lives of 70 of the 91 people who boarded the plane, including the 14 crew members. Another 10 people on the ground also died and about 40 were injured.
With this background, the construction of a new airport in Tababela, on the outskirts of the city, became a priority for municipal and national authorities as a measure to mitigate these risks. This new airport, inaugurated in 2013, is located 32 kilometers from the financial and bureaucratic center of Quito, and has become a safer and more efficient alternative for air operations.
