Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 644 was a scheduled flight operated by the

Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with th ...

registration Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...

LV-ADW, on 19 July 1961 which was due to operate a domestic scheduled passenger service between

Ministro Pistarini International Airport Ministro Pistarini International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional Ministro Pistarini) , also known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location in the Ezeiza Partido in Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport s ...

and

General Enrique Mosconi International Airport General Enrique Mosconi International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional General Enrigue Mosconi) is an international airport in the Chubut Province, Argentina serving Comodoro Rivadavia. The airfield is located north of the cit ...

, but crashed west of Pardo,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, half an hour after

takeoff Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a t ...

, owing to severe turbulence during climb out. This aircraft had been originally named 'Presidente Peron' but by 1956-57 had been renamed 'General San Martin'. Some reports stated the aircraft was struck by

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

. According to the investigation, the plane disintegrated en route after the rupture of one its wings following excessive loads in a zone of turbulence. Both the pilot and the company's flight dispatcher contributed to the disaster by misevaluating the weather forecast and choosing an inappropriate flight altitude. All 67 occupants of the aircraft – 7 crew and 60 passengers – were killed in the accident, which remains the deadliest one the company experienced all through its history. As of 2023, Flight 644 remains the deadliest aviation disaster in Argentine history.Argentina at Aviation Safety Network
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References

External links

Final report

Archive
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Junta de Investigaciones de Accidentes de Aviación Civil Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

Aviation accidents and incidents in Argentina Aerolíneas Argentinas accidents and incidents Accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-6 Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight structural failure Aviation accidents and incidents in 1961 1961 meteorology July 1961 events in South America {{aviation-accident-stub

See also

References

External links