Colombia plane crash leaves 15 dead after SATENA flight loses contact near Cúcuta

# Colombia plane crash leaves 15 dead after SATENA flight loses contact near Cúcuta

*Event date: 2026-01-28*

A domestic SATENA flight in northern Colombia crashed after losing contact with air traffic control, killing all 15 people on board, according to authorities and local media cited by BNO News. The aircraft, a Beechcraft 1900D turboprop, had been operating a route from Cúcuta to Ocaña when communication was lost late in the morning local time.

The plane carried 13 passengers and two crew members. Officials later said the aircraft was found in a rural area known as Curasica, in the municipality of Playa de Belén, and that there were no survivors. The crash triggered a search effort by the air force and civil aviation authorities, who deployed aircraft and ground teams to locate the plane and assist the investigation.

SATENA said the flight number was NSE 8849 and that the aircraft had reported its last contact with air traffic control shortly before midday. The airline also said the plane was operated by contractor SEARCA. Among those killed, local reporting identified Diógenes Quintero, a congressional candidate from Norte de Santander. His party said he had been travelling with members of his campaign team.

The initial reports did not name a cause. That means investigators now face the standard but difficult task of reconstructing the final minutes of the flight using radar data, radio communication records, wreckage analysis and witness accounts from the crash area. For a small regional aircraft in rugged terrain, the early hours of an investigation often focus on weather, mechanical failure, pilot distress and the possibility of a sudden loss of control.

The immediate priority, however, was search and recovery. Officials and local media said the crash site was remote, and the scale of the impact made the likelihood of survivors extremely low from the outset. The deaths also carried a political dimension because Quintero was a candidate for Colombia’s House of Representatives, making the accident part of a national news event as well as a transport tragedy.

SATENA is Colombia’s government-owned regional carrier, often used to connect smaller cities in parts of the country where surface transport is slow or difficult. That role makes any fatal accident on one of its flights particularly sensitive, because it affects public confidence in a carrier meant to serve regional mobility needs.

For now, the central facts are stark: a short domestic flight disappeared, search teams found wreckage in a rural area, and all 15 people aboard were killed. The investigation will determine why a routine regional trip ended in one of the country’s deadliest aviation incidents in recent memory.