VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0332 0811710
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221710Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3368
INFO RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE 0489
RUEHTG/AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA 0025
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 0357
RUEHSN/AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR 0150
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 000332 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/PPC - D. TOMLINSON 
DEPARTMENT FOR PM/RSAT - J. BURNETT 
DOD ALSO FOR NGA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL MASS MARR OPRC AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: EMBASSY REQUEST FOR DOD ASSISTANCE IN GOA SEARCH 
FOR LOST AIRCRAFT 
 
¶1.  Summary. Embassy requests that DOD and Southern Command consider 
training-related activities that might assist Argentine authorities 
in their ongoing search for the wreckage of a Douglas C-54 Air Force 
plane lost on November 3, 1965, during a training flight from Howard 
AFB Panama to San Salvador, El Salvador.  The plane, lost with 59 
air force cadets and nine crew, had reported a failed engine and 
other electrical problems while flying over the Caribbean north and 
east of Panama.  The altered flight path may have taken it over land 
in western Panama or southeastern Costa Rica.  Embassy is prepared 
to facilitate information from GOA and private sources on past 
searches and recent investigations of the case.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  The Argentine Air Force Commander, Brigadier General Normando 
Costantino, wrote the Ambassador October 6, 2008, to request USG 
assistance in the country's episodic but ongoing efforts to locate 
the remains of an Air Force Douglas C-54, tail number TC 48, which 
is presumed to have crashed on November 3, 1965.  The plane with 
nine crew was carrying 59 young cadets on a training trip from 
Buenos Aires to Mexico City.  Its loss on the Panama (Howard AFB) to 
San Salvador leg became a huge national story.  Families of the lost 
cadets and crew continue to press for locating the plane.  The 
pilot's report of an engine on fire, other electrical problems, and 
search for an emergency landing site were conveyed to a commercial 
aircraft and to another Argentine Air Force plane on the same route. 
 U.S. military based in Panama at the time were involved in search 
operations. 
 
¶3.  Costantino's specific request was for helicopter transport 
support for a search (Operation Humanitarian Hope II) that took 
place November 6 to 18 of last year in the Costa Rican jungle near 
"Cerro Sinsal."  Under a short time-frame, we were not able to 
coordinate assistance.  That Argentine-Costa Rican effort did not 
locate the crashed plane, and Air Force authorities have shared with 
us their continuing desire for USG support.  Any USG involvement in 
this effort would generate substantial goodwill among Argentina's 
armed forces and public at large. 
 
¶4.  Action Request: Embassy requests Department of State endorsement 
and request for support from the Department of Defense and Southern 
Command for assistance in the search for Argentina TC 48.  We 
encourage consideration be given to activities that would meet 
current training or operational needs of U.S. military forces in the 
region while advancing the search.  Logistical support for future 
ground searches or deployment of canopy-penetrating or ocean 
floor-mapping technologies or other assistance from the National 
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency might be some options, but any 
appropriate engagement in line with U.S. capacities and training 
needs would be welcome by the GOA. 
 
¶5.  Contacts: Embassy POC on the TC 48 is Military Group U.S. Air 
Force Section Chief Lt Col Greg Green.  He can be reached at [54] 
11-5777-4614 and by email at Gregory.Green@tcsc.southcom.mil. 
 
WAYNE