Historica Wiki
Advertisement
Avianca Flight 203

The wreckage from the plane.

Avianca Flight 203 was a Colombian domestic passenger flight that was supposed to fly from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá to Alfonso Bonilla Aragon International Airport in Cali on 27 November 1989. The plane, carrying 101 passengers and 6 crew, was destroyed in a suicide bombing by Medellín Cartel member Jaime Carrera, who unwittingly detonated a bomb disguised as a recording device.

The bombing targeted presidential candidate Cesar Gaviria, who was supposed to have boarded the plane; however, DEA agent Steve Murphy and his security adviser Eduardo Sandoval urged him not to board the plane, and 110 people were killed. The bombing led to international outcry against the narcotraffickers, but Gaviria refused United States assistance when he became president, asking the Americans to focus their resources on combatting cocaine consumption back home.

Advertisement