(24 Feb 2000) Spanish/Nat
The final remains of a British plane that disappeared in the Andes mountains over 50 years ago have been recovered by an Argentinian army expedition team.
The remains, which include the body parts of the three crew men who disappeared with the craft, have been carried to the Andean town of Tupungato.
The plane was discovered by accident last month by a mountain expedition team which alerted the authorities.
For years, the fate of the missing British Avro Lancastrian was one of the great aviation mysteries.
Now, the plane and its passengers are finally being laid to rest.
After a long, arduous climb - the Argentinian expedition team have returned with the remains of a British plane that disappeared in a snowstorm in 1947.
At altitudes with little oxygen, these mules have carried back all that was found.
Tattered scraps of clothes and a severed hand eerily mummified by the cold were displayed back at base camp, at the foot of Tupungato volcano.
These are the clues to a story that couldn't be told for more than half a century.
Two Argentine mountaineers discovered the site accidentally last month as they climbed the 21,848-foot (6,554-metre) volcano.
Now, the 17-member army expedition sent to recover the remains has returned with its quarry.
For years, the fate of the British Avro Lancastrian was one of the world's great aviation mysteries.
The perilous peaks where the plane disappeared are so high they're shrouded in snow and freezing temperatures all year round.
Operated by the now defunct British South American Airways, the plane was carrying 11 people - five crew members and six passengers - and was headed to Santiago, Chile, when it disappeared on August 2nd, 1947.
The passengers included three Britons, a German, a Palestinian and a Swiss.
Once back on ground, the remains were carried to Mendoza.
On hand to receive them was the Defence Attache at the British embassy in Buenos Aires.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"And I wish to pay tribute particularly to the professionalism and stamina shown by this team. Because it is no mean feat to go climbing a mountain of that height and of those severe conditions to do a task which is a sad task, a thankless task which is to clear up the tragedy that happened."
SUPER CAPTION: Colonel Hamon Massey, Defense Attache, British Embassy, Buenos Aires
The remains will be held in this military morgue where they will be analysed by scientists.
Thus ends one of the great air mysteries.
For years, during the early pioneering days of aviation, the Andes mountain range was a virtual graveyard for planes.
The last message from the plane has puzzled aviation investigators for years.
Radio operators in Chile reportedly received a Morse code message reading "STENDEC" - an acronym investigators say has no meaning.
Following the crash, search teams from England, Chile and Argentina combed the area by air and on skis but found nothing.
Theories abounded about the plane's disappearance.
It's now accepted by many experts that severe weather was the cause of the crash as the converted World War II bomber did not have de-icing capabilities and was unfit to travel through winter conditions.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
