Felipe Humberto Camiroaga Fernández (8 October 1966 – 2 September 2011) was a Chilean television presenter, actor and comedian, one of the most popular in his country.

[4] Camiroaga died on 2 September 2011 after the military plane which was taking him and twenty others to Juan Fernández Archipelago crashed in the sea.

He also studied journalism at Las Condes University, but did not complete the course, and theater at Academia de Actuación Fernando González Mardones.

[17][19] Camiroaga was hired by Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) in 1992 to co-host Buenos Días a Todos with Tati Penna, a breakfast programme first transmitted that year; however, the couple were later replaced by Margot Kahl and Jorge Hevia.

[20] At the same time, he hosted some unsuccessful programmes, such as La Gran Apuesta and El Chapuzón, and others with mixed results, such as Motín a Bordo and Contigo en Verano.

[22] He returned to Buenos Días a Todos in 2005, sharing duties with Tonka Tomicic, then with Katherine Salosny, and finally Carolina de Moras.

[25] Camiroaga proved to be versatile in his TV programmes, where he created characters such as El Washington, a poor man who lives on the street and survives on leftover food, distinguished by his humble origin.

Camiroaga hosted a radio programme called El Almacén del Washington in Corazón FM, dedicated to the trading of articles.

In 2000, he participated in the theatrical work Venecia, directed by Boris Quercia, starring Gabriela Medina, Carmen Barros, Tichi Lobos and Javiera Contador; Camiroaga was the only male actor.

[35][36] Camiroaga was travelling with a team from Buenos Días a Todos, personnel from Desafío Levantemos Chile and the National Council of Culture and the Arts to Robinson Crusoe Island in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, when the Chilean Air Force (FACh) CASA C-212 Aviocar plane which was carrying them crashed into the sea and disintegrated while it was trying to land at the Robinson Crusoe Aerodrome, on 2 September 2011.

[42] Seven days after the crash, Secretary General of Government Andrés Chadwick announced that body remains rescued from the sea were identified by DNA tests as Camiroaga, Felipe Cubillos and three other passengers.

[43][44] Camiroaga's remains were cremated in a private ceremony on 12 September 2011,[9] and the next day a funeral oration was conducted at the Televisión Nacional de Chile's headquarters, which was broadcast live by the station.

After this, his remains were taken to the Parque del Recuerdo cemetery, where a private ceremony was conducted, attended by relatives and Camiroaga's closest friends.

[48] On 5 September 2011, Julián Elfenbein, Carolina de Moras, Jorge Hevia, Karen Doggenweiler and emblematic staff of Buenos Días a Todos, friends, TVN personalities and from other channels – including competitors of the programme – joined to pay tribute to Camiroaga in his program.

[49][50][51] In that episode of Buenos Días a Todos, the first since Camiroaga's death, his friend and TV director Daniel Sagüés commented that Felipe once told him that he wanted Silvio Rodríguez's song "Ángel para un Final" to be played in his funeral.

[53] Other international personalities, such as Lucero,[54] Yuri, Ricardo Montaner, Alejandro Sanz, Ricky Martin, Luis Fonsi, amid others, expressed their sadness and consternation at Camiroaga's death, through the social networks Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

[55] The plane crash was extensively covered by the press, nationally and internationally, emphasizing the figure of the TV presenter, including BBC News from the United Kingdom.

[57][58][59] An Argentinean TV programme called Duro de Domar mocked the Juan Fernández tragedy, focusing on Camiroaga and his relationships with Rocío Marengo and Cecilia Bolocco, provoking harsh attacks from Chileans in social networks.

[60] Chilean newspaper Las Últimas Noticias caused controversy on 2 September 2011; its digital edition cover was headlined "The last flight of the Falcon" ("El último vuelo del halcón"), which generated outrage from Internet users, as Camiroaga's whereabouts were unknown at the time.

[61] Televisión Nacional de Chile decided to name the studio from which Buenos Días a Todos is transmitted "Felipe Camiroaga Fernández", and kept free the TV presenter's parking space to remember him.

[63] Additionally, the Chilean Telethon (Teletón) paid homage to Camiroaga and the twenty other passengers of the aircraft in its opening and at the Julio Martínez National Stadium in the fundraising's 2011 edition.

[71] Camiroaga was linked romantically with several Chilean TV personalities, such as Katherine Salosny,[72] Angélica Castro,[21] Karen Doggenweiler,[73] Bárbara Rebolledo,[74] Paz Bascuñán[21] and Fernanda Hansen,[75] with whom he was in a relationship at the time of his death.

[93] Just a couple of days before the accident which led to his death, Camiroaga's home in Chicureo had caight fire, which the Brigade of Special Investigations assured was "intentional",[94] which has often been cited as "proof" for the supposed killing.