Tourist Plane Crash Near Peru’s Nazca Lines Kills 13
All 13 people aboard a sightseeing aircraft died after it crashed near Peru’s Nazca Lines on August 1, 2026; authorities have opened an investigation into the cause.
In short
- All 13 people aboard a sightseeing aircraft died after it crashed near Peru’s Nazca Lines on August 1, 2026; authorities have opened an investigation into the cause.
A tourist aircraft crashed in southern Peru on Saturday, August 1, 2026, killing all 13 people aboard during a sightseeing flight near the Nazca Lines, according to local police and municipal authorities.
Officials said the dead were 11 passengers and two pilots. The passengers were reported to include seven Italian, two German and two Spanish nationals. Police identified the aircraft as a Cessna Grand Caravan.
The plane departed from Pisco at about 1 p.m. local time for an overflight of the ancient desert geoglyphs. It lost contact with air traffic control minutes later and crashed in the Pueblo Viejo area, about 6 kilometres from Nazca and roughly 12 kilometres from the heritage site.
Authorities had not determined the cause of the crash by Saturday evening. The Nazca municipality said the relevant aviation agencies would investigate the accident and oversee any determination of responsibility.
The Nazca Lines, a UNESCO World Heritage site, are large figures etched into the Peruvian desert between about AD 200 and 700. Their scale makes sightseeing flights a major way for visitors to view them, but the area has recorded several fatal tourist-aircraft crashes in previous years.
