Avianca Flight 203

Avianca Flight 203

An Avianca Boeing 727-100 similar to the one involved.
Bombing summary
Date	November 27, 1989
Summary	Bombing
Site	Colombia 4°35′N 74°13′W / 4.583°N 74.217°W / 4.583; -74.217Coordinates: 4°35′N 74°13′W / 4.583°N 74.217°W / 4.583; -74.217
Passengers	101
Crew	6
Fatalities	110 (including 3 on ground)
Survivors	0
Aircraft type	Boeing 727-21
Operator	Avianca Airlines
Registration	HK-1803
Flight origin	El Dorado Int'l Airport
Destination	Alfonso Bonilla Aragón Int'l Airport

Avianca Airlines Flight 203 was a Colombian domestic passenger flight from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá to Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali. It was destroyed by a bomb over the municipality of Soacha on November 27, 1989.

The aircraft took off from the Colombian capital Bogotá en route to Cali. It was in the air for five minutes and flying at a speed of 794 kilometres per hour (493 mph) when an explosive charge detonated on board, igniting fuel vapors in an empty fuel tank.

The aircraft was a Boeing 727-21 with registration number HK-1803, purchased from Pan Am. It took off as scheduled at 7:13 a.m. Five minutes into the flight, a bomb placed near the fuel tank exploded at 13,000 feet. The blast ripped the airliner apart: The nose section separated from the tail section, which went down in flames. All 107 people on board were killed, as well as three people on the ground who were killed by falling debris. According to the investigations, a suit-wearing man brought the bomb onboard in a suitcase.

The bombing of Flight 203 was the deadliest single criminal attack in decades of violence in Colombia. Pablo Escobar of the Medellín drug cartel planned the bombing, hoping it would kill presidential candidate in the 1990 elections César Gaviria Trujillo. Gaviria, however, was not on the aircraft and went on to become President of Colombia. Two Americans were among the dead, prompting the Bush Administration to begin Intelligence Support Activity operations to find Escobar.