A small commuter airplane operated on behalf of Colombia’s state-owned airline Satena crashed in a remote region of the country’s northeast on January 28, 2026, killing all 15 people on board, authorities said. Among the dead were a sitting lawmaker and a congressional candidate.
The twin-engine Beechcraft 1900D departed Camilo Daza International Airport in Cúcuta shortly before noon on a scheduled domestic flight to Aguas Claras Airport in Ocaña, in the Norte de Santander province near the Venezuelan border. Air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft about 12 minutes into the flight, Satena said, and the airplane was later located in a rugged, mountainous area near Curasica, Playa de Belén.
Satena confirmed that there were no survivors in the crash, which claimed the lives of two crew members and 13 passengers. The airline released the list of those aboard, which included Diógenes Quintero, a 36-year-old member of Colombia’s House of Representatives for the Catatumbo region, and Carlos Salcedo, a social leader and congressional candidate ahead of elections scheduled for March.
The aircraft’s emergency locator beacon did not activate, Satena said, and officials have not yet identified a cause for the accident. Colombian authorities have launched a formal investigation, with the Ministry of Transportation leading efforts alongside the Technical Directorate of Accident Investigation and the Colombian Aerospace Force.
Transportation Minister María Fernanda Rojas said emergency response protocols were quickly activated once the crash site was located. “We are doing all the necessary tasks, protocols and procedures to address the situation and deliver responsible information,” she said at a news conference.
Images from regional media showed significant fuselage damage at the scene, and rescue and recovery operations were complicated by the region’s difficult terrain and poor weather conditions. Local authorities and the Colombian military were involved in debris clearance and victim identification efforts.
The flight had taken off at about 11:42 a.m. local time and was expected to land in Ocaña — a journey of roughly 40 minutes — when it disappeared from radar. Satena said contact was lost near the border area, and search teams were dispatched as soon as authorities were alerted to the disappearance.
