A Federal Court has indicted six executives of Sol Líneas Aéreas in connection with the crash of a Saab 340 aircraft in May 2011. According to news portal Liter.ar, the Federal Court of Bariloche, led by Judge Gustavo Villanueva, has issued indictments with preventive detention for Horacio Gabriel Angeli, Horacio Rubán Darre, Danilo Alberto Pojmaevich, Hugo Carlos Rodríguez, Jorge Ricardo Costales, and Jorge Omar Herrera.
These individuals face charges of endangering the safety of an aircraft, aggravated by causing an air disaster resulting in the deaths of 22 people, under Article 190 of the Argentine Penal Code.
Despite the preventive detention order, the defendants will remain free while the judicial process unfolds. They are required to inform the court of any absence from their residence exceeding 20 days or any change of address. Horacio Angeli, who served as president of Sol Líneas Aéreas at the time of the accident, along with the other indicted executives, were part of the airline’s management team. The court has also ordered asset seizures for each of them, totaling ARS 235 million.
Additional Indictments Without Preventive Detention
According to Liter.ar, Judge Villanueva has also indicted Gustavo Claudio Cebreiro, Gustavo Alberto Daneri, Héctor Pascual Morbidoni, Paolo Marino, and Mario Antonio Parrello for endangering the safety of an aircraft, though without preventive detention. The first four were members of Sol’s board of directors, while Parrello was responsible for dispatching the aircraft on the day of the crash from Neuquén International Airport. These individuals face asset seizures of up to ARS 4 million.
Judicial Findings on the Crash
The judicial analysis focused on the conditions under which the fatal flight took place on May 18, 2011. According to Liter.ar, investigators determined that the Saab 340A, registered LV-CEJ, lacked essential safety equipment, and that the crew had not received adequate training to handle in-flight icing conditions.
Judge Villanueva concluded that “the lack of specific training posed a danger to the aircraft’s safety, which in this case led to a fatal outcome, aggravating the charge due to the resulting air disaster and loss of lives.”
Additionally, the investigation identified deficiencies in meteorological information and in the aircraft’s weight and balance data at the time of departure. The judge stated that “the lack of updated information constituted a risk to the aircraft’s safety.”
Dismissals and Call for a Public Trial
Judge Villanueva dismissed charges against Stefano Angeli and Héctor Cicchitti, citing a lack of evidence linking them to the incident. He emphasized the importance of conducting a public trial to provide closure for the victims' families and the public.
Details of Flight 5428 and the Crash
The Saab 340, registered LV-CEJ, took off from Rosario, the airline’s headquarters, at 5:35 PM local time, operating Flight 5428. The flight was scheduled to reach Comodoro Rivadavia, with planned stops in Córdoba, Mendoza, and Neuquén.
Departing from Neuquén at 8:05 PM, the aircraft encountered icing conditions approximately 30 minutes later, which progressively worsened until the pilots lost control of the aircraft, crashing near Los Menucos, in south-central Río Negro province.
📄 Read the full accident report: Final Investigation Report on Sol Líneas Aéreas Flight 5428 (Spanish document)
Sol Líneas Aéreas: The Rise and Fall of Argentina’s Last Private Regional Airline
Sol Líneas Aéreas was Argentina’s last significant private regional airline, operating for nearly a decade. As part of the Rosario-based tourism company Transatlántica, it launched operations in 2006 through an agreement with the Santa Fe provincial government, aimed at improving connectivity for cities like Rosario, Rafaela, and Santa Fe.
With a fleet of Saab 340 aircraft, the airline built a network spanning from Rosario to Río Grande, covering cities such as Córdoba, Mendoza, Neuquén, Trelew, Comodoro Rivadavia, Río Gallegos, Mar del Plata, and Bahía Blanca. It also operated seasonal flights to Punta del Este and received government subsidies to maintain routes.
The Downfall: From an Air Nostrum Partnership to Closure
Following the Flight 5428 crash, Sol Líneas Aéreas struggled financially, facing increasing competition from state-owned Aerolíneas Argentinas, particularly on the Patagonian Oil Corridor and Atlantic Corridor routes.
By 2012, the two airlines reached a codeshare agreement, which evolved into a capacity purchase deal by mid-2015. That year, Spanish carrier Air Nostrum acquired a stake in Sol, introducing six CRJ200 regional jets, three of which entered service under a hybrid livery between Austral and Sol.
However, the political landscape shifted in late 2015, with Mauricio Macri’s election as Argentina’s president. In January 2016, Aerolíneas Argentinas canceled its capacity purchase contract with Sol, leaving the airline financially stranded.
As a result, on January 15, 2016, Sol Líneas Aéreas permanently ceased operations.
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