On a Saturday that began as a routine sightseeing excursion to one of Peru’s most iconic archaeological landmarks ended in tragedy, when a small tourist plane crashed into an open field just outside the city of Nazca, killing all 13 people on board, local Peruvian authorities confirmed.
The flight was operated by Peruvian aviation company Aerodiana, and had been carrying passengers on a popular aerial tour of the Nazca Lines — the massive, centuries-old geoglyphs etched into the coastal desert by Indigenous Peruvian communities. These massive ancient artworks, which depict a wide range of animal shapes, are too large to be fully observed from ground level, making scenic aerial flights one of the region’s most popular tourist attractions.
According to official details released by Nazca’s municipal government via a public statement posted to Facebook, the doomed flight departed from the nearby regional hub of Ica. Aerodiana’s official website notes that the company has built a 14-year history operating scenic flights over the Nazca Lines, relying exclusively on Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft for its services.
Peru’s Ministry for Trade and Tourism confirmed in an official statement that the aircraft carried 11 foreign tourists and two crew members. Peru’s state-run news outlet Agencia Andina further broke down the nationalities of the fallen passengers: two German citizens, two Spanish citizens, and seven Italian tourists were among those killed when the plane went down.
In the wake of the crash, Peruvian civil aviation and law enforcement authorities have launched a full investigation to determine the root cause of the accident. Multiple attempts to reach a representative from Aerodiana for immediate comment on the crash went unanswered in the hours after the incident.