Describe the plane they chartered and the course which it was to take.

The plane, Fairchild number 571, took off at 8:05 a.m. on October 12. Its scheduled destination was Santiago, Chile. The plane had accumulated only 792 hours since its purchase from the USA. The plane was in good mechanical condition and Ferradas was familiar with it. The flying conditions were more of a concern. The Andes mountains were renowned for powerful and dangerous air currents.