Iberia Flight 602

Not to be confused with Iberia Flight 062.

Iberia Flight 602 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight operated by a Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle that took off from Valencia, Spain, bound for the Balearic island of Ibiza, which flew into the side of a mountain near Ibiza Airport. All 98 passengers and 6 crew died in the crash.

Iberia Flight 602

EC-ATV, the aircraft involved in the accident, pictured in 1970.
Accident
Date	7 January 1972
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain
Site	Sierra de Atalayasa, Spain 38°54′13″N 1°15′04″E
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle
Aircraft name	Maestro Victoria
Operator	Iberia
Registration	EC-ATV
Flight origin	Valencia Airport
Destination	Ibiza Airport
Occupants	104
Passengers	98
Crew	6
Fatalities	104
Survivors	0

Aircraft and crew

The aircraft was a Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle that first flew on 25 June 1963 and was powered by two Rolls-Royce Avon Mk.533R turbojet engines. Delivered to Iberia on 9 July, the aircraft was initially named Tomás Luis de Victoria after the Spanish Composer of the same name, though this was later shortened to Maestro Victoria.^[1][2]

Flight 602 was under the command of 37-year-old captain José Luis Ballester Sepúlveda, with 7,000 flying hours' experience, first officer Jesús Montesinos Sánchez, and flight engineer Vicente Rodríguez Mesa.^[3][4]

The crash

Flight 602 was a domestic service flight that took off from Valencia Airport bound for Ibiza. On board were 6 crew and 98 passengers, most of whom were Valencia natives returning to Ibiza for work after the holidays.^[5]

At approximately 12:15 pm, the aircraft's captain radioed Ibiza Airport, requesting permission to descend to 5,500 feet (1,700 m). Ibiza Airport sources reported that he also said, "Get me a beer ready, we are here."^[5]

The aircraft was approaching Runway 07 when it descended below 2,000 feet (610 m).^[2] Reportedly, neither the captain nor the co-pilot noticed the dangerous descent, as they were discussing a football match with the airport tower controller.^[2] Flight 602 struck Mount Atalayasa approximately 90 feet (27 m) below its 1,515-foot (462 m) summit.^[5][6] The aircraft exploded on impact. All 98 passengers and 6 crew on board were killed.^[3]

Cause

It was ruled that the pilot had failed to maintain the minimum flight altitude for a visual approach to Runway 07.^[7]