Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571
Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 was the chartered flight of a Fairchild FH-227D from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile, that crashed in the Andes mountains on 13 October 1972. The accident and subsequent survival became known as the Andes flight disaster and the Miracle of the Andes.
T-571, the FH-227 involved in the accident
The Tinguiririca Volcano as seen from the Tinguiririca river valley
Unknown to the survivors, the abandoned summer resort Hotel Termas el Sosneado was only 21 km (13 mi) due east from the crash site.
The survivors' expedition had to climb the western rim of the glacier cirque before descending into Chile. A rock pile memorializing the victims and survivors is in the foreground.
The Fairchild F-27 and Fairchild Hiller FH-227 were versions of the Fokker F27 Friendship twin-engined, turboprop, passenger aircraft manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. The Fairchild F-27 was similar to the standard Fokker F27, while the FH-227 was an independently developed, stretched version.
Fairchild F-27
Prototype of the F-27 in 1958-1959
Fairchild F-27J of Air South in 1974, showing the shorter fuselage of this version
An FH-227D used in the movie Alive! in the livery of Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya Flight 571 that crashed in the Andes in 1972
