Remembering TAME flight 120

TAME Flight 120 was a Boeing 727-134 airliner operating a scheduled international passenger flight between Quito, Ecuador (UIO/SEQM) and Cali, Colombia (CLO/SKCL), with a scheduled stopover at the Ecuadorian border town of Tulcán. The aircraft crashed while on approach to Tulcán's Teniente Coronel Luis A. Mantilla International Airport (TUA/SETU) on the 28th of January 2002. The pilot flew the approach incorrectly in reportedly foggy conditions, and the aircraft crashed into the side of the Cumbal Volcano, located near Ipiales, Colombia, at 10:23 in the morning. All 94 passengers and crew were killed in the crash.

The aircraft crashed into the side of the mountain at 10:23 AM, after which no further contact was made with the flight. The impact occurred at an elevation of 14,700 feet (4,500 m), some 1,400 feet (430 m) below the volcano's summit. Visibility was very poor at the time of the accident; the wreckage was not found until almost a day later.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: TAME Ecuador

Code: EQ/TAE

Aircraft: Boeing 727-134

Registration: HC-BLF

Serial Number: 19692

First Flew: 20-11-1967 (34 years 3 months)
Engines: 3 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A

The aircraft involved had first flown in 1967 and was previously operated by Transair Sweden, Air Madeira and Philippine Airlines before being transferred to TAME.