[1] The Fairchild F-27 of Aeronor Chile was flying from Santiago to Antofagasta, with stops in La Serena and Copiapó.

A few minutes before it was scheduled to land at La Florida Airport, the aircraft suffered a malfunction in one of its engines.

All forty-two passengers and four crew members were killed by the crash or subsequent fire.

Initially, the accident was mistaken for an emergency drill at the airport in La Serena which had commenced a few hours before the tragedy.

A television crew from Canal 8 UCV TV, who were shooting scenes of the drill, managed to capture the Aeronor aircraft on fire shortly after the crash.