A chartered Nacional de Aviación Colombiana Let L-410 twin-turboprop with 18 people on board went missing about 20min after leaving Villavicencio Vanguardia airport, Colombia on 8 October.
Under contract to perform regular Colombian army troop redeployments, the aircraft (HK-4055) was heading south-west towards La Uribe airport with three crew and 15 members of the Colombian army's elite 10 mobile brigade. Reports confirm that adverse weather conditions prevailed over the mountainous terrain, and the flight's last radio contact was about 15min after its departure, the aircraft's radar plot disappearing altogether at 15:40 local time - 10min short of its destination.
Colombian air force personnel engaged in the search and rescue efforts say they have not discarded the possibility that the aircraft was brought down by guerillas. In August an Antonov An-26B chartered by the Colombian army was destroyed while landing at Colombia's Antonio Narino airport.
Source: Flight International
