SATENA Flight Crashes in Colombia Mountains, Killing All 15 Aboard

OCAÑA, COLOMBIA — A Beechcraft 1900D operating as SATENA flight 9R8849 crashed into a mountainside near Ocaña, Colombia, on January 28, 2026, killing all 15 people on board.

The aircraft, registration HK-4709, operated by SEARCA for SATENA, struck terrain at approximately 6,881 feet elevation, 11.5 nautical miles southeast of Ocaña Airport (OCV), in the rugged Catatumbo region of Norte de Santander near the Venezuelan border.

All 13 passengers and two crew members died in the crash, which occurred during descent from Cúcuta (CUC) Airport, where the flight had departed at 4:42 p.m. local time for what should have been a 20-minute flight.

The 31-year-old aircraft, with approximately 32,000 flight hours, was tracked reaching about 12,925 feet before descending to between 6,298-6,500 feet at speeds of 205-234 knots when it impacted the mountainside just below the summit.

According to The City Paper Bogotá, no external factors were reported in the crash, and weather conditions were favorable at the time.

Colombian authorities, along with the Aerospace Force and judicial entities, have launched an investigation into the accident. SATENA (Servicio de Aeronavegación a Territorios Nacionales) is Colombia's military airline that provides commercial service to remote regions of the country.

The crash marks one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Colombia in recent years.