Avianca Flight 203

Avianca Flight 203 was an internal flight from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia to Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali, Colombia. On November 27, 1989, the Boeing 727-21 (registered HK-1803) was destroyed by a bomb while flying over Soacha. All 107 passengers and 3 people on the ground were killed. The bombing was ordered by the Medellín drug cartel.

Avianca Flight 203

HK-1803, the aircraft involved in the bombing
Bombing
Date	November 27, 1989
Summary	Bombing by Medellín drug cartel under order of Pablo Escobar
Site	Cerro Canoas, Soacha, Colombia 4°33′30″N 74°15′45″W
Total fatalities	110
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-21
Operator	Avianca
Registration	HK-1803
Flight origin	El Dorado Int'l Airport
Destination	Alfonso Bonilla Aragón Int'l Airport
Occupants	107
Passengers	101
Crew	6
Fatalities	107
Survivors	0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities	3

Aircraft

The aircraft was a Boeing 727-21 with registration HK-1803. It was built in 1966 and delivered to Pan Am on May 28, 1966. In 1975, the aircraft was bought from Avianca. The aircraft changed registrations when bought.^[1]

Flight

Flight 203 took off at 7:13 a.m. Shortly after, while at 13,000 feet (4,000 m), a bomb was set off, causing fuel to explode. A second explosion made the front of the aircraft to separate from the back of the aircraft. The debris was spread across the town of Soacha. The crash kills all 107 passengers and crew and 3 people on the ground by a falling debris.^[1][2]

Aftermath

An investigation found the cause of the explosion to be plastic explosives. ^[3] Drug cartel leader, Pablo Escobar, planned the bombing. The reason was to kill Colombian presidential candidate, César Gaviria Trujillo but Gaviria did not get on the plane, and became the president of Colombia.^[4]

In popular culture

The bombing was shown in Season 1 of the television show, Narcos.^[5]