Peru Plane Crash Kills 13 Tourists Flying Over Nazca Lines

A small aircraft carrying tourists crashed near Peru's Nazca Lines on Saturday, killing all 13 people aboard—eleven passengers and two pilots. The Cessna Grand Caravan went down in the Pueblo Viejo region after departing from Pisco airport around 1 p.m. local time. Authorities have recovered four bodies from the wreckage so far, with the crash cause remaining under investigation.

Victims and Flight Details

The passenger manifest included seven Italian nationals, two German tourists (believed to be a couple), and two Spanish travelers. The aircraft was operated by Peruvian airline Aerodiana. Pilots Americo Salazar Cuellar and Irenka Del Carpio were also killed in the crash. The plane lost radio contact with the control tower approximately 20 minutes after takeoff while conducting an overflight of the famous geoglyphs.

The Nazca Lines, ancient desert drawings created by the Nazca culture around 1,600 years ago, remain a major tourist attraction and UNESCO World Heritage site. Small aircraft tours are a popular way for visitors to view the scale of the artistic works, which depict animals and geometric shapes etched into the sand across a vast area in southern Peru.

Recurring Safety Concerns

This incident marks the third fatal plane crash near the Nazca Lines in 14 years. In 2022, another small tourist aircraft crashed at the site, killing seven people. A 2010 crash claimed six lives, including British tourists and Peruvian crew. Earlier that same year, a separate accident took three Chilean and four Peruvian lives. Between these incidents and multiple fatal crashes dating back to 2008, the area has seen repeated aviation disasters, raising persistent questions about aircraft maintenance and operational oversight among competing tour operators.

The Nazca municipality issued a statement expressing condolences to the families of the deceased. Peru's tourism ministry noted that investigation and aviation oversight responsibilities fall to competent authorities who will determine causes and assign liability according to law. Aerodiana said it would assess its flight schedule in accordance with directives from relevant authorities.