AEROLINEAS TAO, S. A.: Colombia (1962-1974). Taxi Aereo Opita, S. A. is reformed at Neiva in 1962 and renamed. It begins scheduled lightplane passenger and cargo revenue services to domestic destinations. Flights commence with several ex-military Douglas C-47Ds, roughly converted to DC-3 civil standard.
A C-47D with 5 crew and 25 passengers crashes near Boqueron, Colombia, on November 8, 1965; there are no survivors.
Unheralded flight operations continue until 1968 when the company introduces a pair of Vickers Viscount 785D turboprops, retired by Alitalia, S. p.A. the previous year. Two more Dash-785Ds arrive from Italy in 1969, but one is held out of service for spare parts.
Following a nonfatal 1971 accident, a new wing is fitted to the damaged Viscount.
On July 18, 1972, Flight 511, a Viscount 785D with 51 passengers en route from San Andres Island to Bogota via Cartagena, is nearly destroyed when a berserk passenger storms into the cockpit and shoots both the pilot and copilot. Although the gunman is overpowered by other crew members and passengers, the captain is killed. Bleeding badly, the first pilot is able to make a safe emergency landing at the intermediate stop, where the assailant is handed over to police.
En route from Neiva to Bogota on August 25, one of the British-built turboprops with 30 passengers is commandeered by four gunmen, who order it flown to Cuba.
A Vickers Viscount 785D is destroyed as the result of a bad landing at Bogota on June 7, 1973; there are no fatalities.
Following the in-flight detachment of the left tailplane and elevator, Flight 514, another Viscount 785D with 6 crew and 38 passengers en route from Bucaramanga to Cucuta on June 8, 1974, crashes at Monte San Isidoro; there are no survivors.
The company is shut down and the two surviving Vickers are placed into storage at Bogota.
An attempt is made to relaunch the carrier in 1975-1976, but is unsuccessful.
World History
