
December 1969 to August 1976
Sociedad Anonima Ecuatoriana de Transportes Aereos (SAETA)
HC-ARS - c/n 377 - a V.785D series Viscount
Ecuador registered
1 December 1969
Purchased from Alitalia.
17 December 1969
Noted at Gatwick Airport, Surrey, England arriving from Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Italy at 16:04 local time.
It was on its way to Ecuador, still in full Alitalia livery.
13 November 1971
Noted at East Midlands Airport, Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England undergoing maintenance with Field Aircraft Services Ltd.
The actual date it arrived is not known. Details please to information@vickersviscount.net
29 January 1972
Noted at East Midlands Airport, Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England undergoing maintenance with Field Aircraft Services Ltd.
The actual date it departed is not known. Details please to information@vickersviscount.net
15 August 1976
Disappeared while operating a scheduled domestic service from Aeropuerto Mariscal Sucre, Quito to Mariscal Lamar International Airport, Azuay Province, Ecuador.
A technical problem delayed the takeoff by about 90 minutes and when they eventually left the flight crew reported passing the Ambato and Riobamba VOR beacons .
After about 30 minutes into the flight all radio contact was lost.
Despite an intensive search led by SAETA Captain Patricio Mosquera the wreckage could not be found.
The 4 crew including Captain Burbano and Captain Alemán and 55 passengers were presumed to have died in the crash.
18 February 2003
The wreckage was eventually found by climbers, 660 feet below the peak of the 20,700 ft Chimborazo Volcano nearly 27 years later after the sudden thawing of snow near the summit of the volcano!
The wreckage was confirmed at the site when newspapers were found with the date of the crash.
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