Uruguayan Air Force flight 571

The Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash and rescue is one of the most chilling stories in Modern Human History. The flight that was supposed to take a Uruguayan team of Amateur Rugby players from Montevideo, Uruguay to Santiago, Chile ended up crashing on a mountain in the Andes Mountain range in Argentina on the 13th of October in 1972.

The ship’s wreckage was not found until two months after the incident. A lot of crazy, inhumane, and terrifying things happen to the survivors in those 72 days. The story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 is a chilling story of the extent humans will go to survive. The incident later inspired a movie in 2010, which was named, “I am Alive: The Andes Mountain Incident.”

In this article, we will read about the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 Crash, its survivors, location, rescue, and important facts related to the crash.

About Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

The flight was boarded by 45 people, 40 passengers, and 5 Crew members. Uruguayan Air Force Fairchild FH-227D, a 4-year-old Aircraft, was chartered by the Old Christian Club to take their Rugby players from Montevideo, Uruguay to Santiago, Chile. The aircraft was boarded by the players, the club members, and their families along with the crew.

The airplane had to take a stop in Mendoza, Argentina due to the stormy weather, which did not clear until the next day at 2:18 pm. Now, Santiago was in the west of Mendoza but Fairchild was not built to fly above 22,500 feet, which is why the Pilot decided to reroute and go south to the Pass of Plachón, where the aircraft could safely pass from the Andes Mountains. Pilot Julio Ferrardes was a seasoned pilot who had flown past Andes 29 times and he was training the co-pilot Dante Lagurara.

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 Location

The Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash landed in the Malargüe Department, Mendoza Province, Argentina. It crashed 11,710 feet (3,570 meters) above sea level. The official report on the crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, concluded that the aircraft crashed due to controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error. The aircraft crashed into the mountain on a glacier at 34°45′54″S 70°17′11″W at an elevation of 3,570 meters in the Malargue Department in Mendoza Province in Argentina.

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 Survivors

After passing the Pass of Plachón, at 3:21 pm, Dante Lagurara expected to reach Curicó in a minute and started to get the aircraft ready to descend. He asked the air controller for permission to descend but the air controllers were worried about it since it usually took 11 minutes to reach Curicó after crossing the Pass. Still, it only took 3 minutes for Lagurara and Fairchild. But they permitted him to land. Dante had miscalculated as it turned out, they were still deep into Andes Mountain. The airplane crashed into a glacier later named the “Glacier of Tears.”

• The crash killed 12 of the 45 people who boarded the plane the moment it hit. The rest were alive and many of the surviving 33 members. The survivors were stranded on the mountain 11,500 feet above sea level, with the only thing protecting them from the harsh weather was the still intact airplane’s fuselage. Six more people died in the next few weeks after the crash, the remaining 27 survived on candy bars and wine.
• On, the 29th of October 1972 an avalanche hit the plane burying the plane and killing eight more members of the survivors. The avalanche also buried the fuselage and froze part of it. So the 19 people were left without the only thing that protected them from the murderous weather of the Mountain range.
• By this time, it was believed that the passengers who boarded the plane were dead, due to the weather of the Andes Mountains and also because the expeditioners who went on the search for the missing airplane and survivors for 8 days came empty-handed.
• After being stranded on the mountain for months, three of the passengers, Nando Parrado, Antonio “TinTin” Vinzintin, and Canessa decided it was of no use to wait for rescuers and started navigating the terrain to find an escape route. But they failed. The next day, Nando, Antonio, and Canessa decided to go out again, Nando returned as he realised it was pointless to even try. But Caness and Antonio kept searching for nine days, until they reached a river beyond which they saw a group of Chilean herdsmen. They called upon them for help but their voice could not reach the herdsmen but the herdsmen promised to return the next day.
• The next day, the survivors, Antonio and Canessa, threw a paper that said “I am from the aeroplane that crashed on the mountain.” After finding out about this, the Chilean herdsmen notified the government. The Chilean government immediately sent them a rescue team. Then on 22nd December, the government sent two more helicopters on 23rd of December to save the remaining survivors.

The survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 were stranded on the treacherous mountain for 72 days. They crashed on the mountain on 13th October 1972, the second day after they flew from Montevideo, Uruguay. They went missing for 72 days and were rescued on 23rd of December in 1972.

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 Cannibalism

After their ration ended the survivors had long discussions and arguments. But it was finally decided that they needed to eat the dead corpse to survive.

One of the survivors, Robert Canessa who was a 19 year old Medical student and also the writer of the book, “I had to survive: How a Plane Crash In Andes inspired My Calling to Saving Lives,” said, “Cannibalism is when you kill someone, so technically this is what is known as anthropophagy. I’ve had these discussions for 40 years. I don’t care. We had to eat these dead bodies, and that was it. The flesh had protein and fat, which we needed, like cow meat. I was also used to medical procedures, so it was easier for me to make the first cut.

One of the survivors said they were inspired by Jesus Christ and the Last Supper, where Jesus told his disciple that the bread and wine were his body and blood and asked them to consume it in his remembrance. This led to a lot of controversies and ended up getting the survivors absolved by the Church.

Conclusion – Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

The story of the Uruguayan Air Force is one of the most chilling stories known in modern history. After the rescue, it spread throughout the globe like wildfire. The story is an excellent yet terrifying example of how far humans will go to survive even in the face of certain death. It is also a great example of the unreal realism of our world and how not everything can be categorised into good and bad or black and white. The survivors of the incidents are alive to tell this chilling tale but the fear and PTSD can be seen in their eyes.

Sometimes, you are thrown in a situation where you don’t see a way to come out of, but the crashing incident of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 is a reminder of keeping up the good fight to survive. It also shows how a small mistake could lead to a great disaster. It is such a rare event, that we do not have another example similar to the incident in human history let alone in modern history.

The incident even inspired a book written by one of the Survivors, Robert Canessa named, “I had to survive: How a Plane Crash In Andes inspired My Calling to Saving Lives” and two movies both named Alive, which was released in 1993 and in 2010.

FAQs on Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

1. How many people are survived in Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571?

Only 12 people out of the 45 passengers survived the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 Crash.

2. Who survived the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash of 1972?

The name of the people who survived the aircraft crash were as followed:

• Roberto Canessa
• Nando Parrado
• Carlos Páez Rodríguez
• José Pedro Algorta
• Alfredo “Pancho” Delgado
• Daniel Fernández
• Roberto “Bobby” François
• Roy Harley
• José “Coche” Luis Inciarte
• Álvaro Mangino
• Javier Methol
• Ramón Sabella
• Adolfo “Fito” Strauch
• Eduardo Strauch
• Antonio “Tintin” Vizintín
• Gustavo Zerbino.

3. How did Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash?

According to the official report of the crash, the Fairchild FH227D crashed due to controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error. The miscalculated landing by rookie Pilot Dante Lagurara caused the death of 39 people.