The Latin American Aviation Historical Society

New on laahs.com!

The Cessna A-37B Dragonfly is well known for its service in Southeast Asia, but far less attention has been paid to the role the type played in the Panama Canal Zone. A new article on LAAHS documents the operational history of the 605th Special Operations Squadron at Howard Air Force Base, the unit that introduced the Dragonfly to Latin America.

Drawing on quarterly historical reports from the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA), the article covers the squadron's origins, its transition to the A-37B around 1969, and its day-to-day operations at Howard: gunnery training at the Balboa West Gunnery Range, cross-country navigation missions across Latin America, close air support exercises with the 193rd Infantry Brigade, and an innovative naval cooperation mission designated "Savage Sea." It also reconstructs, for the first time in detail, the 1971 Mobile Training Team conducted for the Fuerza Aérea Guatemalteca, which concluded with the first export delivery of the A-37B to a Latin American air force. Seven of the squadron's aircraft have been positively identified by serial number through photographs taken at Howard by Dan Hagedorn in 1971.

Connect to LAAHS to read Combat Dragons in the Canal Zone: The 605th Special Operations Squadron and the A-37B Dragonfly at Howard Air Force Base.

https://www.laahs.com/canal-zone-combat-dragons/

LAAHS A non-profit organization aimed to research, preserve and disseminate the history of the civilian and military aviation in Latin America.

On this day, 93 years ago, Captain Mariano Barberán and Lieutenant Joaquín Collar took off from Tablada airfield in Seville, Spain, aboard the Breguet XIX GR "Cuatro Vientos," a specially built long-range biplane loaded with over 5,000 liters of fuel. Their mission: to become the first aviators to cross the Atlantic through its widest central portion, linking Spain directly with Cuba.

After nearly 40 hours of flight, battling gastritis, fuel concerns, and the vast emptiness of the ocean, Collar and Barberán landed at Camagüey, Cuba, on June 11, 1933, with barely 100 liters of fuel remaining, enough for just fifteen more minutes in the air. Their feat proved the viability of a transatlantic air route between Europe and the Caribbean, a vision Barberán had championed as both scientist and aviator. Days later, after a week of celebrations in Havana and repairs to a cracked fuel tank discovered by their mechanic Sergeant Modesto Madariaga, the crew departed for Mexico City on June 20. The "Cuatro Vientos" was last reported near Villa Hermosa, Tabasco, at 11:35 that morning. Neither the aircraft nor its crew were ever found.

Read the full story at

https://www.laahs.com/cuatro-vientos/

On the night of 6 June 1992, Copa Airlines Flight 201 vanished from radar over the Darién Gap minutes after departure from Panama City. All 47 people on board were killed. The investigation that followed uncovered a chain of failures that began with something as seemingly trivial as a faulty wire.

The accident, the deadliest in Panamanian aviation history, was documented by PBS NOVA in a compelling episode that follows the investigators from the jungle to the NTSB laboratories in Washington, D.C. The full documentary is embedded in our article.

Connect to LAAHS to read "The Mysterious Crash of Copa Flight 201: A PBS NOVA Documentary."
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https://www.laahs.com/copa-flight-201-documentary/

On May 9, 2026, the Club Aéreo de Santiago celebrated its 98th anniversary at Aeródromo Eulogio Sánchez (SCTB) with a flyover of more than 30 aircraft. The Escuadrilla de Alta Acrobacia "Halcones" led the formation with four GameBird GB1s, followed by a pair of Beechcraft T-34A Mentors and a combined training formation of Van's RV-9A, Cessna C-172S Skyhawk SP, and Diamond DA-20C1 Eclipse aircraft.

The article by Álvaro Romero traces the Club's history from its founding on May 5, 1928, by Arturo Merino Benítez at the military airfield of El Bosque, through its relocation to the purpose-built Tobalaba aerodrome in 1954. The celebration also featured vintage and classic aircraft including a Mooney M-18C Mite, a Morane-Saulnier MS.885 Rallye, and a Blériot XI replica from the Museo Nacional Aeronáutico y del Espacio de Chile. (Photos: Álvaro Romero.)

Connect to LAAHS to read "98 Years of Wings Over Santiago: The Club Aéreo de Chile Celebrates Nearly a Century of Flight."
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https://www.laahs.com/cas_98_anniversary

In October 1978, Venezuela launched one of the most audacious military deployments in Cold War Latin America. When Anastasio Somoza threatened to invade Costa Rica, a nation without an army, Venezuelan President Carlos Andres Perez responded by dispatching BAC Canberras, OV-10E Broncos, and T-2D Buckeyes to Central America under the elegant cover of a "Training and Goodwill Mission." The reality was a fully armed combat operation.

This remarkable article by Arturo Soto Loreto, originally published on the FAV-Club website, reconstructs Operation "Buena Voluntad" through firsthand accounts from the pilots who flew the mission, including the harrowing instrument descent through clouds over the volcanoes near San Jose and the eleven tense days on alert in David, Panama. It also covers the parallel Operation "Chanchera," the C-130 extraction of Eden Pastora's guerrillas from Managua's National Palace.

Read Operation "Buena Voluntad" here 👇
https://www.laahs.com/operation-buena-voluntad/

The Museo Nacional de Aeronautica (MNA) in Moron, Buenos Aires, has announced a guided tour on Saturday, May 2 at 11:30 AM, featuring Comodoro (R) VGM Luis Longar, a Fuerza Aerea Argentina Bell 212 helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas War.

Longar's talk, titled "Mis 85 dias en Malvinas" (My 85 Days in the Falklands), will cover his wartime experiences as a member of the Escuadron Helicopteros Malvinas. Then a lieutenant, Longar was the commander of Bell 212 H-85, one of two Bell 212 IFR helicopters deployed to the islands aboard C-130 Hercules transports at the very start of the conflict in April 1982. Operating initially from Stanley Airport and later from the FAA's Base Aerea Militar Condor at Goose Green, the helicopter squadron carried out search and rescue, casualty evacuation, personnel and supply transport, reconnaissance, and support for the Air Observation Network.

Among Longar's most notable missions was the rescue of Major Carlos Tomba, a Pucara pilot who had been shot down by a Sea Harrier on May 21, 1982, the same day as the British landings at San Carlos. Tomba ejected from his IA-58 Pucara at extremely low altitude and survived, but his location was unknown. Longar and his crew, including copilot Lieutenant Gustavo Brea, found and recovered him in a daring search mission carried out with the last light of that day. That rescue is the reason May 21 was designated as the Dia del Helicopterista (Helicopter Crew Day) in the Argentine Air Force. Longar also participated in the rescue of survivors from the coast guard cutter ARA Rio Iguazu.

Over the course of the war, the Bell 212 crews accumulated some 250 flight hours in the combat zone, rescuing seven downed pilots, recovering a patrol from behind enemy lines, and saving 25 shipwreck survivors from the Rio Iguazu. The squadron operated until June 12, just two days before the ceasefire, when the last Bell 212 crew was evacuated to the mainland aboard a C-130.

The MNA is located at Av. Eva Peron 2200, Moron, Buenos Aires. Admission is free.

An excellent opportunity for anyone in the Buenos Aires area interested in the helicopter operations of the South Atlantic conflict.

In December 1939, a Pratt & Whitney service rep flew to Tegucigalpa to support TACA's new Lockheed 14s, and came back with a remarkable firsthand account of Lowell Yerex's airline hauling sheep, silver, and dynamite across six Central American countries.

Originally published in The Bee-Hive, the internal bulletin of United Aircraft Corporation, this piece is a rare ground-level portrait of TACA at its peak.

Read it here !👇
https://www.laahs.com/all-aboard-for-central-america/

New on LAAHS: Dan Hagedorn reviews "MIRAGE: El Caza Delta de Venezuela" by Jesús Aveledo and Eugenio Mendoza.

At 322 pages, this is the definitive history of the Dassault Mirage III, 5, and 50 in Venezuelan Air Force service. The book draws on predominantly Venezuelan sources and photographers, including pilots and crew, and finally untangles the FAV's notoriously complex serialing system with a detailed aircraft listing.

Available now on Amazon in hardcover, paperback, and Kindle.

Read the full review at:
https://www.laahs.com/mirage-el-caza-delta-de-venezuela/

Now Available! Shooting Stars in Southern Skies — by Dan Hagedorn & Rob van Lijf.

A must-have for aviation enthusiasts! For the first time, a coherent and authoritative look at the story of the T-33A and F-80C in Latin America.

📷 Get your copy here: https://www.europeanairlines.no/product/shooting-stars-in-southern-skies/

New on LAAHS: In January 1934, El Salvador's three Curtiss-Wright C14R-4 "Salvador Ospreys" flew in formation to San José, Costa Rica — a goodwill mission that involved a clipped electric line on landing, a diplomatic incident at the reception table, and a Communist demonstration outside. Dan Hagedorn rescues this obscure adventure from oblivion.

🔗 https://www.laahs.com/ospreys-over-san-jose/