Date:	Friday 7 February 1997
Time:	10:11
Type:	Dassault Falcon 20C
Owner/operator:	Air Service
Registration:	LV-WLH
MSN:	34
Year of manufacture:	1966
Total airframe hrs:	15118 hours
Engine model:	General Electric CF700-2D2
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	36,4 km SW of Salta International Airport, SA (SLA) -   Argentina
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Cargo
Departure airport:	Tucumán-Teniente General Benjamín Matienzo Airport, TU (TUC/SANT)
Destination airport:	Salta-Martín Miguel de Güemes International Airport, SA (SLA/SASA)
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
Falcon LV-WLH operated on a cargo flight from Córdoba (COR) to Tucumán (TUC) and Salta (SLA). The aircraft took off from Tucumán at 21:45. At 22:01 the crew reported at FL180 over reporting point PONPI, 55 nm Salta. Two minutes later the flight was cleared to descend to the cloud level. At 22:08 the crew reported at 6500ft on top of the clouds in visual conditions. Shortly afterward the airplane flew into the side of Cerró Chivilme at an altitude of 6970 feet.

CAUSA PROBABLE: "Colisión con una montaña durante el descenso previo al aterrizaje, debido a efectuar un procedimiento de aproximación por instrumentos distintos al vigente en el aeropuerto de destino con error de distancias y alturas.
Son factores concurrentes:
- Usar el GPS como instrumento primario de navegación, cuando debe ser usado como instrumento suplementario o de referencia.
- Falta de control sobre los instrumentos y procedimientos, por deficiente coordinación de cabina (CRM).
- Colocación de un punto ficticio en el GPS con un nombre F-SAL que se confunde fácilmente con SAL, sigla del aeropuerto Salta."


PROBABLE CAUSE (translated from Spanish):
Collision with a mountain during the descent prior to landing, while flying an instrument approach procedure other than the existing airport destination with errors in distances and heights.
Contributing factors were:
- Use of GPS as the primary instrument of navigation, when it should be used as a supplementary tool or reference.
- Lack of control over the instruments and procedures, poor CRM.
- Placement of a fictitious point in the GPS with the name "F-SAL" which is easily confused with "SALT", the acronym of the Salta airport.

Junta de Investigaciones de Accidente de Aviación Civil (JIAAC), DISPOSICIÓN N° 33/97

photo (c) Werner Fischdick; Rio Gallegos Internacional Airport, SC (RGL); 03 January 1996

photo (c) Eduardo Baratti; Buenos Aires-Jorge Newbery Airport, BA (AEP/SABE); December 1996

Date/time	Contributor	Updates