Viasa Flight 742
YV-C-AVD, the aircraft involved in the accident, pictured in February 1969 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 16 March 1969 |
| Summary | Loss of control during takeoff due to overloading |
| Site |
|
| Total fatalities | 155 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 |
| Operator | Viasa |
| IATA flight No. | VA742 |
| ICAO flight No. | VIA742 |
| Call sign | VIASA 742 |
| Registration | YV-C-AVD |
| Flight origin | Simón Bolívar International Airport, Caracas, Venezuela |
| Stopover | Grano de Oro Airport, Maracaibo, Venezuela |
| Destination | Miami International Airport, Miami, Florida, United States |
| Occupants | 84 |
| Passengers | 74 |
| Crew | 10 |
| Fatalities | 84 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 71 |
Viasa Flight 742 was an international, scheduled passenger flight from Caracas, Venezuela to Miami International Airport, United States with an intermediate stopover in Maracaibo, Venezuela that crashed on 16 March 1969. After taking off on the Maracaibo to Miami leg, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 hit a series of power lines before crashing into the La Trinidad section of Maracaibo. All 84 people on board died, as well as 71 on the ground. The crash was the world's deadliest civil air disaster in the late 1960s.