Tourist Plane Crash Near Nazca Lines Kills 13

The Nazca Lines are a group of enormous figures scraped into the desert floor by Indigenous inhabitants roughly between AD 200 and 700, forming shapes that include a hummingbird, a monkey and a whale. Because the designs can only be appreciated from above, a competitive industry of overflight operators has grown around the site, which UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) lists as world heritage and which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. Aerodiana states on its website that it has flown scenic routes over the lines for fourteen years using Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft. Saturday's disaster was far from unprecedented: a crash in 2022 killed seven people, two separate accidents in 2010 killed six and seven, and five French tourists died in 2008. Journalists and aviation specialists have repeatedly questioned the maintenance and oversight of the light aircraft flown on the route.

The cause of the crash remains unknown, and Peruvian authorities have opened an investigation. President Keiko Fujimori expressed regret over the accident and indicated that a temporary suspension of the local airport was being considered, pending reports from the relevant ministries. Peru's tourism ministry voiced "deep sorrow over the tragic deaths of tourists and crew members", while Aerodiana said it would reassess its flight schedule in line with the directives of the authorities.