A small plane flying between Contamana and Pucallpa in the Peruvian Amazon made an emergency landing on a beach along the Ucayali River on Sunday after its crew declared an alert during the flight. All six people on board, passengers and crew, escaped without injury.
The aircraft, a Piper PA-32 registered as OB-2202, was operated by the airline Red Wing S.A.C. It departed Contamana, in the Loreto region, at 10:12 a.m. and had been scheduled to land in Pucallpa at 10:39 a.m., according to Peru's Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC).
Shortly before it was due to arrive, the crew reported that it was facing an emergency. At 10:50 a.m., it informed authorities that it had managed to land on a beach roughly ten miles from Pucallpa, short of its intended destination.
Six people evacuated by army helicopter
Five passengers and one crew member were traveling on the flight. None was hurt in the incident. A helicopter from the Peruvian Army was sent to the site to remove the occupants and fly them on to Pucallpa.
Once in the city, all six underwent medical checks. The beach where the plane came down sits on the bank of the Ucayali River, away from the point where the aircraft had originally been due to land.
Ministry opens investigation into cause
Following the landing, the MTC's Aviation Accident Investigation Commission (CIAA) opened proceedings to determine what happened during the flight and what led the crew to carry out the emergency landing.
Authorities have not yet specified the exact reason for the alert declared before the plane reached Pucallpa. Establishing the cause will depend on the findings of the investigation opened by the specialized commission.
The MTC said Red Wing S.A.C. is authorized to carry out air operations and that the company is subject to the inspection and oversight carried out by Peru's Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC).
Pucallpa is the capital of Peru's Ucayali region, in the Amazon rainforest, while Contamana lies further north in the Loreto region. The Piper PA-32 is a single-engine light aircraft commonly used for regional flights in remote parts of the country.
For now, the landing on the Ucayali riverbank remains under investigation. The incident ended without personal injury to any of the six occupants, who were evacuated afterward to Pucallpa.
