Aeroperú Flight 603
N52AW, the aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in Miami in January 1996 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2 October 1996 |
| Summary | Instrument failure due to blocked pitot tube; crashed into the ocean |
| Site | Pacific Ocean, 89 km (55 mi) northwest off Lima, Peru 11°49′S 77°51′W / 11.817°S 77.850°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 757-200 |
| Operator | Aeroperú |
| IATA flight No. | PL603 |
| ICAO flight No. | PLI603 |
| Call sign | AEROPERU 603 |
| Registration | N52AW |
| Flight origin | Miami International Airport Miami, Florida, United States |
| 1st stopover | Mariscal Sucre International Airport (former) Quito, Ecuador |
| Last stopover | Jorge Chavez International Airport Lima, Peru |
| Destination | Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport Santiago, Chile |
| Occupants | 70 |
| Passengers | 61 |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 70 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Accused | Eleuterio Chacaliaza, four others |
| Convicted | Eleuterio Chacaliaza |
| Charges | Negligent homicide |
| Verdict |
|
| Sentence | Chacaliaza: 2-year suspended sentence |
Aeroperú Flight 603 (PL603/PLI603) was a scheduled passenger flight from Miami International Airport in Miami, Florida, to Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago, Chile, with stopovers in Quito, Ecuador, and Lima, Peru. On October 2, 1996, the Boeing 757-23A aircraft flying the final leg of the flight crashed into the Pacific Ocean. There were no survivors among 70 people on board.
Flying over water, at night, with no visual references, the pilots were unaware of their true altitude, and struggled to control and navigate the aircraft. The investigation determined that the air data computers were unable to show correct airspeed and altitude on cockpit displays because a maintenance worker had failed to remove tape covering the pitot-static system ports on the aircraft exterior prior to departure.