Colombian Plane Crash Claims Lives of All 15 Onboard, Including Expectant Mother
All 15 people aboard a Satena airline flight, NSE 8849, died in a crash in northeastern Colombia on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. The Beechcraft 1900 twin-engined turboprop aircraft was traveling from Cúcuta to Ocaña, in the department of Norte de Santander, when it went down.
The plane took off from Cúcuta shortly before noon local time and was scheduled to land in Ocaña at 12:05 PM, but crashed in a mountainous region planted with coca leaves, an area where illegal armed groups operate. Air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft 12 minutes into the flight, according to Satena.
The Colombian Transportation Ministry confirmed there were no survivors. Among those on board was Congressman Diogenes Quintero Amaya and members of his team, as well as Carlos Salcedo, a candidate for Congress ahead of elections in March.
The passenger list also included María Torcoroma Álvarez Barbosa, Rolando Enrique Peñalosa Gualdrón, María del Carmen Díaz Rodríguez, Maira Alejandra Avendaño Rincón, Anayisel Quintero, Karen Liliana Parales Vera, Anirley Julio Osorio, Gineth Tatiana Rincón Sanjuan, Natalia Cristina Acosta Salcedo, Maira Alejandra Sánchez Criado, Juan David Pacheco Mejía, and the flight crew, pilot Miguel Vanegas and co-pilot José de la Vega.
Authorities have recovered the plane’s black box and are investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred amid adverse weather conditions. The emergency beacon on the plane had not been activated, Satena reported.
Pregnant Woman Among the Victims
The tragedy was compounded by the revelation that Gineth Tatiana Rincón, a cosmetologist who was traveling on the flight, was two months pregnant and expecting a baby girl named Guadalupe. The information was confirmed by the local news outlet Noti Playa.
Rincón was traveling to Ocaña to share the news of her pregnancy with her family. She had originally planned to travel with her approximately eight-year-old son and husband, but they ultimately decided to travel by land.
Neighbors of Rincón, from the Alto de la Filadelfia area, expressed their condolences to her parents, Ana Sanjuan and William Rincón, describing her as a “dreamer, brave and very sensitive” woman who was committed to her community. A statement from the local communal council expressed solidarity with the Rincón Sanjuan family during this time of profound grief.
The crash occurred one week prior to today, February 4, 2026.
