“This accident could have been avoided.” Colonel Richard Alarcon, who heads the Bolivian Air Force investigative board, chose that sentence for a news conference at the end of April. Within days the pilot and co-pilot of the doomed C-130 were in pre-trial detention.
The plane went down on Friday, February 27, 2026, at about 18:15 local time. A Bolivian Air Force Hercules had flown in from Santa Cruz with a load of banknotes for the Central Bank of Bolivia, the equivalent of US$60 million according to AFP. It skidded off the runway at El Alto International Airport, outside La Paz, and veered along an avenue before stopping in a field. Part of the fuselage came off and landed outside the airport grounds. Authorities first spoke of at least 20 dead; the later count was 22. Health officials reported 28 injured in one tally and 31 in another, and about a dozen vehicles on the highway were damaged.
The aftermath was almost as chaotic as the crash. Crowds ran to collect the scattered bills, and police in riot gear used tear gas to push them back. The National Association of Journalists of Bolivia said a mobile TV unit was “directly targeted” and reporters were hit with stones. Bolivian News Agency reported at least a dozen arrests for stealing banknotes. Defence Minister Marcelo Salinas warned that the money had no legal value, since it had not been issued by the central bank and carried no serial number, and that using it was a crime. The bills were later invalidated, and at one point officials were seen burning some of them in a bonfire at the scene.
Weather and a wet runway
Witnesses spoke of treacherous weather. Cristina Choque, a 60-year-old vendor whose car was struck by wreckage, described lightning and a heavy hailstorm as the plane came in. “The tyre is what fell on top of us,” she told AFP, adding that her daughter had a head wound.
The air force’s own probe, released on April 30, filled in the technical detail. With eight crew members aboard, controllers failed to reach the aircraft in time, and the crew tried to change course because of the bad weather. The pilot touched down on the nose gear, which made braking difficult, and part of the runway was wet, reducing traction.
Charges against the cockpit crew
Prosecutor Favio Maldonado told the TV channel Unitel that warrants for both pilots went out on April 30. The two were questioned on May 1 and placed in pre-trial detention on involuntary manslaughter charges. Local media reported the arrests on May 2.
The charges name the two men in the cockpit. The probe’s findings, though, point at a chain of events that began before the wheels met the runway: late instructions from the tower, a diversion forced by the storm, and a landing on a slick surface.
Sources
- At least 20 killed after military plane carrying banknotes crashes in Bolivia – BBC News
- At least 20 killed as cash-laden military cargo plane crashes in Bolivia – The Guardian
- Pilot, co-pilot arrested in deadly Bolivian military plane crash – The Straits Times
Sources
- 2026 Bolivian Air Force Lockheed C-130 crash – Wikipedia
- At least 20 killed after military plane carrying banknotes crashes in…
