The Colombian Aerospace Force reported in the morning hours of this Monday, September 21, that the recovery and extraction operation of the five occupants of the Cessna T-206 aircraft, registration HK4985Gwho suffered an accident on September 13 in the Tatamá National Natural Park.
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According to the information published by the institution, The Aerospace Force commandos participated in the work to locate and extract the five people who were on the aircraft, in a difficult-to-access area of the natural park.
🔴🛩️Videos revealed of how the plane was left after crashing on the Condoto-Guaymaral route.
The Colombian Aerospace Force reported that the recovery and extraction operation of the five occupants of the Cessna T-206 aircraft, registration HK4985G, which suffered a… pic.twitter.com/1PN0fkAPvN
— EL TIEMPO (@ELTIEMPO) September 21, 2026
The operation took place amidst conditions complex geographic and meteorological characteristics that represented difficulties for the teams in charge of reaching the accident site and completing the recovery of the occupants, according to the Air Force.
Chronology of events
The Chronology of the accident of the Cessna T206 light aircraft (registration HK-4985) It began at the end of last week, when the health personnel and the pilot of Turkish origin Mehmet Cankaya They moved to the municipality of Condoto, Chocó.
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The accident occurred last morning. Sunday, September 13, 2026after finishing the medical brigade. The aircraft took off from the Mandinga airport in Condoto bound for the Guaymaral airport in Bogotá, transporting the pilot and the specialists. Perla Constanza Alvarez, Sandy GarciaMaría Guzmán and Yuliza Figueredo.
At 9:23 a.m. was registered on last radio contact with the crew in the vicinity of the Tatama hilla mountainous and jungle area between Chocó and Risaralda. After the trail was lost, the emergency radio beacon was activated and the search began.
Nurse Sandy García sent a last message to her sister before taking off on the plane. Photo:Social networks / Caracol News.
Finally, after several days of highly dangerous maneuvers due to the weather conditions and the thickness of the jungle, the specialized commandos managed to reach the scene of the accident.
This Monday, September 21the Colombian Air Force confirmed the successful completion of the extraction and recovery operation of the bodies of the victims, which They have already been transferred to be delivered to their families in the country’s capital.
Meanwhile, Civil Aeronautics continues with technical investigations to clarify whether meteorological factors were the main cause of the tragedy.
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The health professionals who lost their lives had an outstanding career in the medical and social sector. Perla Constanza Alvarez She worked as an experienced surgical instrument technician, while Sandy Garcia She was a head nurse with extensive experience in emergency care.
Pilot Mehmet Cankaya. Photo:Private file
The flight originated in Mandinga de Condoto Airporta regional air terminal characterized by limited infrastructure and a runway that requires maximum precision from pilots due to the constant climate changes of the Chocó jungle. The operation from this point It is usually difficult in the mornings due to dense fog and sudden rains.
Civil Aeronautics examines the aircraft’s dispatch records to verify the conditions reported at the time of takeoff and determine if the bad weather alerts on Tatamá Hill were visible to the crew before starting the route to Bogotá.
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The next steps of the authorities are in charge of the Air Accident Investigation Directorate (DIACC) of Civil Aeronautics. After completing the extraction of the bodies today, the technical commissions will focus on collecting the key parts of the Cessna T206 plane at the impact site.
The legal process includes analysis of fuel systems, engines and geolocation devices to issue a preliminary report in the next 30 dayswhich will seek to definitively clarify whether the incident was due exclusively to weather conditions or if there were concurrent factors.
Daniela Gutiérrez Munar
dangut@eltiempo.com
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