Thirteen people died when a small tourist plane operated by Aerodiana crashed on Saturday in the Pueblo Viejo region of Peru. The aircraft went down while flying over the Nazca Lines archaeological site, leaving no survivors among the eleven passengers and two pilots on board.
Flight Route, Crash Site, and Timeline of the Tragedy
The fatal flight departed from an airport in Pisco before heading toward the Nazca Lines in southern Peru. The plane belonged to local Peruvian airline Aerodiana, whose representatives were not available for comment following the incident.
Authorities in Nazca province reported that the aircraft crashed in the Pueblo Viejo area, sitting approximately six kilometres from the city of Nazca and roughly 12 kilometres from the famous archaeological site. The impact occurred around 13:00 local time (19:00 BST), according to reporting from the region.
Recovery Operations and Confirmed Casualties
Police Major Jorge Andrade provided an official update on the grim situation, noting that four bodies had been recovered from the wreckage.
Police Major Jorge Andrade stated via AFP that, given the severity of the accident, there were no survivors.
State news channel TVPeru confirmed that the plane was carrying 11 passengers and two pilots when it went down. While local authorities launched a formal investigation into the causes of the crash, the identities of the passengers have not yet been publicly released.
Weather Conditions and Prior Flight Disruptions
Flights overlooking the Nazca Lines departing from the nearby Maria Reiche airfield had been suspended on Friday due to winds exceeding 40 kilometres per hour. Those strong gusts kicked up dust and severely reduced visibility across the arid plains.
The adverse weather forced authorities to divert other aircraft on Friday, including a small plane carrying two Peruvian tourists and another carrying six foreign visitors, which were sent to the Marcona Airport.
The Global Significance of the Nazca Lines Tourism Hub
The Nazca Lines are a popular tourist attraction and UNESCO World Heritage site known worldwide for massive drawings and geometric figures etched directly into the southern desert plains. The ancient geoglyphs draw approximately 100,000 annual visitors who typically rely on small aircraft to view the sprawling designs from above.
Previous tourist flights have met with disaster in the region, including a 2022 crash that killed seven people and a 2010 incident that claimed six lives.
