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, Douglas reworked it after the war to compete ...

, registration 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 () , also known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location in Ezeiza in Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport south-southwest of the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, the capital c ...

in Buenos Aires City and

General Enrique Mosconi International Airport General Enrique Mosconi International Airport () is an international airport in the Chubut Province, Argentina serving Comodoro Rivadavia. The airfield is located north of the city, covers an area of , and has a terminal. The airport is t ...

Comodoro Rivadavia Comodoro Rivadavia (), often shortened to Comodoro ( ), is a city in the Patagonian Provinces of Argentina, province of Chubut Province, Chubut in southern Argentina, located on the San Jorge Gulf, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, at the foot of th ...

, but crashed west of Pardo,

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, 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 tr ...

, 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 natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

. 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 2025, Flight 644 remains the deadliest aviation disaster in Argentine history.Argentina at Aviation Safety Network
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