A sightseeing flight over the Nazca Lines in southern Peru ended in a crash that killed 13 people, including two Spanish tourists. The accident, which left no survivors, occurred in the Pueblo Viejo sector, about two kilometers from Nazca airport, and renewed attention to safety in the region’s tourist-flight sector. The victims included two Peruvian crew members and seven Italians from two families; the remaining passengers were couples from Spain and Germany, information from initial reports from Peruvian authorities.
The aircraft was a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, registration OB-2001, operated by Aerodiana. It had departed from Pisco airport around midday to give passengers an aerial view of the geoglyphs. The crash occurred at approximately 13:00 local time, shortly after the crew reported an emergency to the Nazca aerodrome control tower. Radio contact was lost after the distress call. Emergency services dispatched to the site confirmed there were no survivors.
Peru’s Ministry of Transport and Communications said the Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC) and aviation accident investigators had activated protocols to establish the cause. Peru’s Commission of Investigation of Aviation Accidents (CIAA), led by president Carlos Portocarrero Bustamante, retained responsibility for the inquiry, with Carlos Cordero Paredes serving as investigator in charge. Firefighters and police secured the area. The Ministry coordinated with foreign consulates to inform victims’ families. President Keiko Fujimori expressed her condolences and confirmed that the transport and foreign ministers were directly involved in the response.
The investigation was still active in an update published on October 19, 2026. Investigators inspected the wreckage in Pisco and conducted technical interviews with Aerodiana representatives and flight personnel, while examining the aircraft remains and the operator’s records and procedures. Chile’s Directorate General of Civil Aeronautics provided technical assistance focused on operational procedures and human factors. Portocarrero said Peru retained exclusive responsibility for the case, and that Chilean participation did not prejudge the causes or contributing factors. The update did not identify a cause.
The crash occurred in an area where tourist aircraft take visitors over the Nasca Lines and Geoglyphs, a UNESCO-listed cultural field. The flight was a sightseeing operation, not a scheduled airline service. The inquiry’s attention to operational procedures and human factors bears directly on how such flights are conducted, while Peru remains responsible for determining the accident’s cause. The recent wildfire crisis in Castellón also drew attention to rapid emergency response and support for victims’ families. There, the regional government allocated impressive aid to those affected, as detailed in this report on emergency assistance in La Vall d’Uixó.
The Cessna 208B Grand Caravan is a single-engine turboprop commonly used for regional transport and utility operations. Investigators interviewed Aerodiana representatives and flight staff as part of a review covering the wreckage and the operator’s operational documentation. The inquiry’s findings may inform future oversight of aerial tourism in Peru and could affect travel agencies and operators serving international visitors.
