‍CUCUTA — A SATENA (9R) Beechcraft 1900D has crashed in a mountainous region of northeast Colombia, killing 15 people on board.

The aircraft, HK-4709, was operating flight 9R8895 from Cucuta (CUC) to Ocaña (OCV) when it crashed into terrain during its descent. The aircraft lost radar contact 12 nautical miles east of Ocaña, triggering a search. The wreckage was located soon after.

There were 13 passengers and 2 crew members on board, none of whom survived.

SATENA Statement

(Translated from Spanish)

“SATENA, the Colombian airline, informs the public that flight NSE 8849, which was operating the Cúcuta – Ocaña route, departed at approximately 11:42 a.m. and was scheduled to land around 12:05 p.m., and reported its last contact with air traffic control at 11:54 a.m. today, January 28. 

The aircraft, a Beechcraft 1900 registration HK4709, operated by SEARCA, was carrying 13 passengers and 2 crew members. 

The Colombian Aerospace Force Command and Control Center and the Colombian Aerospace Force Command and Control Center will receive official information. 

Any additional information will be communicated promptly by the airline through its official channels.”

The Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a 31-year-old Beech 1900D, registered HK-4709 and serial UE-140. It was delivered to SATENA in May 2010.

It first flew in February 1995 and was delivered new to Mesa Airlines (YV) in April of the same year as N140ZV in US Airways Express colours.

It was then sold to American commuter airline Big Sky Airlines (GQ) in August 2005, flying for the carrier until it ceased operations in 2008, after which N140ZV found its new home in Colombia with SATENA.

The 1900D has a capacity for 19 passengers in a 1-1 layout and is powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67D turboprop engines.

A total of 695 1900s were built in Wichita, Kansas, from 1982 to 2002. Its design is derived from the popular King Air utility twin.

SATENA

SATENA (standing for, in Spanish, Servicio Aéreo a Territorios Nacionales) is a majority Colombian government-owned regional airline based in El Dorado International Airport (BOG), founded in 1962.

Headquartered in Bogotá, 9R carrier focuses on connecting remote and underserved regions of the country. Currently, 9R operates a fleet of 19 aircraft serving 58 destinations: 56 in Colombia and two in Venezuela.

Its fleet consists of four ATR 42-500s, six ATR 42-600s, five ATR 72-600s, 2 Embraer ERJ-145s, two De Havilland Canada DHC-6-400 Twin Otters, and one DHC-6-300G Twin Otter. The airline has orders for three more Twin Otter 300-Gs, including soon-to-be-delivered MSN 1000, the 1,000th Twin Otter built.

Since 1969, SATENA has suffered at least seven fatal accidents in its history, the last of which took place in the mid-1970s.

The featured image shows a 9R ATR 42-500 at BOG in 2012 and it’s not the aircraft involved in the crash. This is a developing story.