[2] The aircraft involved, manufactured in 1969, was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, registered YV-C-AVD with MSN 47243, powered by two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7 engines.

[3][4] Among the passengers who perished in the disaster was San Francisco Giants pitching prospect Néstor Chávez[5] and Antonio Herrera Gutiérrez, founder of Cardenales de Lara BBC.

The cause of the crash was attributed to faulty sensors, along with runway and take-off calculations made from erroneous information, which resulted in the aircraft being overloaded by more than 5,000 pounds[6] for the prevailing conditions.

Only two days after the crash, Venezuela's Public Works Minister ascribed runway length as a contributing factor in the disaster.

It was also the deadliest accident in Venezuela until West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 (operated by a McDonnell Douglas MD-80, the DC-9's successor aircraft) crashed 36 years later in 2005.