(Image: via Fotolog)
High on the slopes of the majestic Andes mountains rests the battered hulk of an A-4 Skyhawk jet which crash landed there during a training flight on June 23, 1994.
When the Argentine attack jet, identified as Skyhawk C-209, ran into trouble in the skies over the world’s longest continental mountain range, the pilot tried to eject but was unable to do so due to a mechanical failure in the seat.
A-4s operated by the Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Argentina/FAA) during the Falklands War of 1982 were known to be fitted with unreliable ejection seats due to a 1977 arms embargo that blocked the supply of improved versions from the US – the aircraft’s manufacturer – to Argentina.
(Image: via YouTube)
So when this A-4B ran into trouble high above the Argentine Andes, its pilot was unable to bail out and was forced crash land on the side of the vast range. Fortunately, his efforts paid off and the Skyhawk came to rest in one piece on the mountainside.
Twenty years on and the abandoned aircraft’s rear fuselage, wings and tail remain largely intact. Its single engine is still present, but the aircraft’s forward fuselage and cockpit have disappeared over time. Lonely and isolated, the wreck lies at an altitude of 18,051 ft, accessible to the more adventurous tourists and explorers.
(Image: via YouTube)
In this video, a small group using four wheel drive vehicles seeks out the battered A-4 Skyhawk, which is thought to have participated in the Falklands War 12 years before crashing. And as the footage shows, the old military jet remains well camouflaged against the desolate terrain, the only splash of colour being an Argentine flag attached to the tail by its visitors.
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