It had flown previously with Pan Am, originally registered as N321PA and named Clipper Koln-Bonn; it was sold on September 20, 1974, to Avianca.

The 727 broke in half and disintegrated when the fuel exploded; the remains were scattered in a 60-meter (200 ft) radius.

[1] Rescue operations and commissions rushed to the crash site, which was impossible to reach due to nightfall and the resulting low visibility.

Area residents provided light and helped the rescuers reach the top of the mountain, where the rest of the wreckage was.

[citation needed] The official cause of the crash was a controlled flight into terrain at 6,343 feet.