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Aerocon Flight 238 was an airline flight which crashed near Trinidad, Bolivia, on 6 September 2011. Eight of the nine people on board died. The aircraft involved, a Fairchild SA227-BC Metro III, was operating Aerocon's scheduled domestic service from El Trompillo Airport, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, to Teniente Jorge Henrich Arauz Airport, Trinidad. It crashed on approach, 29km from Trinidad.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was Fairchild SA227-BC Metro III, registration CP-2548, c/n BC-768B. The aircraft had first flown in 1992 and had served with several airlines before its sale to Aerocon in January 2009.

Accident

The aircraft took off from El Trompillo Airport, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, for its hour-long, 380 kilometres (210 nmi) flight to Trinidad. At about 19:00 local time (23:00 Zulu Time) the aircraft was reported to be 19 kilometres (10 nmi) north of the airport when contact was lost. A search was initiated, with the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana performing it. At around 12:30 local time on 8 September, the wreckage of the aircraft was spotted at a location 29 kilometres (16 nmi) north east of the airport. Initial reports stated that there were survivors. Helicopters reached the crash site at 16:40 local time and it was discovered that eight of the nine people on board the aircraft had been killed in the crash. The survivor was discovered at around 09:00 local time on 9 September. He sustained a head wound and severe bruising but did not have any broken bones. He was airlifted to a hospital. The crash was heard by two fishermen, who informed the authorities of the approximate location of the crash. A minutes' silence was held in the Senate of Bolivia in memory of those who were killed. It was reported that the VOR had been out of service since 20 August and that a Non-precision approach was being attempted at the time of the accident.

Investigation

Bolivia's Directorate General of Civil Aviation opened an investigation into the accident. The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were recovered from the wreckage and sent to Brazil for analysis.

Aerocon Flight 238

A Fairchild Metro similar to the accident aircraft
Accident summary
Date	6 September 2011
Type	Under investigation
Site	Near Trinidad, Bolivia
Passengers	7
Crew	2
Injuries	1
Fatalities	8
Survivors	1
Aircraft type	Swearingen SA.227BC Metroliner III
Operator	Aerocon
Registration	CP-2548
Flight origin	El Trompillo Airport, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
Destination	Teniente Jorge Henrich Arauz Airport, Trinidad, Bolivia