Colombian Tucano mid-air collision

On Saturday 1 July 2023, at the end of the afternoon, two Fuerza Aérea Colombiana (FAC, Colombian Air Force) Embraer T-27M Tucanos crashed following a mid-air collision at Apiay air base, near Villavicencio. The serials of the two aircraft involved are not yet known.

A Tucano multi-ship sortie was practicing formation flights at the time of the crash, in which one lieutenant-colonel lost his life, and another pilot was injured. The Tucano pilots were scheduled to demonstrate their skills at F-AIR 2023 at Rionegro, a major Colombian air show, within two weeks.

The FAC recently completed an upgrade programme for its fourteen strong Tucano-fleet, which is operated by Escuadrón de Combate 212 (ESCOM 212), and is used for advanced training and in a secondary light attack role. Following the upgrade, the Tucanos were designated as T-27M within the FAC.

Just last year, ESCOM 212 celebrated thirty years of flying with the Tucano, the first of which were delivered in 1992. Up to the accident, not a single aircraft of the fourteen strong fleet had been lost.

Photo by Wim Sonneveld