Tourist Plane Crash in Peru Claims 13 Lives Near Nazca Lines

A small sightseeing plane crashed into a field in southern Peru on Saturday, killing all 13 people aboard, in one of the deadliest air disasters to strike the country's tourism industry in recent memory.

The Cessna Caravan C-208, operated by the Peruvian air-tour company Aerodiana, had departed from Pisco Airport at roughly 12:10pm local time, carrying 11 passengers and two pilots flying over the famous archaeological site, recognised by UNESCO. 

Local authorities said the plane crashed in the Pueblo Viejo region, with Peru's Ministry of Transport and Communications placing the crash approximately 4 miles from the city of Nazca and roughly 7 miles from the Nazca Lines site itself.

Who was on board

Peru's Transportation Ministry said the victims included seven Italian citizens, two Spaniards, and two Germans, along with the flight's pilot and copilot. The toll of 13 dead – 11 tourists and two crew – has been consistently confirmed by Peruvian authorities and by multiple international wire services.

A UNESCO site normally viewed from the air

The Nazca Lines are a series of archaeological sites comprising monumental geoglyphs carved into the desert soil, dating to between 500 BC and 500 AD, and have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO has described the lines as among archaeology's greatest enigmas because of their quantity, nature, size and continuity – noting the geoglyphs depict animals, plants and geometric figures stretching several kilometres, believed to have had ritual astronomical purposes. 

Because of their scale, the drawings – including animals like monkeys, hummingbirds and cats – are best appreciated from the air, which has made small-plane sightseeing flights a fixture of the region's tourism economy. The site draws roughly 100,000 visitors a year. 

Not the first crash at the site

Saturday's disaster was not without precedent. In 2022, another small tourist plane crashed during a flight over the Nazca Lines, killing seven people on board. That earlier crash renewed scrutiny of safety standards among the small charter operators that ferry tourists over the site, though Aerodiana – the operator involved in this incident – says on its own website that it has offered scenic flights over the Nazca Lines for the past 14 years using Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft.

Weather concerns in the days before the crash

The disaster came just a day after Aerodiana and other operators had grounded flights over the same site. Flights over the Nazca Lines departing from the nearby Maria Reiche Airport had been suspended on Friday due to winds exceeding 40 kph (25 mph), which kicked up dust and reduced visibility. 

Those same winds had forced multiple aircraft to divert to the Marcona Airport. Peruvian officials have not yet said whether weather played any role in this crash, and the cause remains under investigation by the government.

A difficult year for Peruvian transport safety

The crash adds to a string of transportation accidents in Peru this year. In February, a Peruvian Air Force Mil Mi-17 helicopter crashed during a flood-rescue mission in the Arequipa region, killing all 15 people on board, including several children. 

Peru remains a major draw for international visitors, with more than 4.1 million tourists visiting the country of just under 35 million people in 2025, many headed for sites like Machu Picchu, the ruins of Cusco, and the Nazca Lines.

Peruvian authorities have not released a timeline for their investigation into Saturday's crash, and it remains unclear when – or whether – sightseeing flights over the Nazca Lines will resume on their normal schedule.