By Enrique Andres Pretel
BARINAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - A Venezuelan passenger planeslammed into the sheer face of an Andean mountainside shortlyafter takeoff from a tourist city and all 46 people on boardwere killed, officials said on Friday.
Rescuers rappelled from helicopters 13,000 feet (4,000metres) above sea level down to the pulverized wreckage of theplane, operated by local airline Santa Barbara, in search ofbodies, said Ramon Vina, head of the civilian aviation agency.
"This plane was found completely wrecked, smashed againstthe face of one of the mountains," the national civil defencechief Antonio Rivero said. "Unfortunately everyone aboarddied."
The twin-engine plane crashed six miles (10 km) from themountain tourist city of Merida after taking off for thecapital Caracas on Thursday before dusk.
Authorities said they did not know the cause of the crash.
It is notoriously difficult for pilots to navigate aroundthe city in a region of mountain peaks that are often coveredin snow and known for its condors and adventure hiking trails.
In Thursday's crash, weather was good, the plane had asolid maintenance record and no history of technical problems.The pilot was experienced and had specialized training forflying through the Andes.
There was no evidence the pilot made distress calls beforecrashing with 43 passengers and a crew of three aboard.
A well-known Venezuelan political analyst, a local mayor,relatives of a senior government official and an American womanworking at the Venezuelan arm of financial services companyStanford Financial Group died in the crash, authorities said.
The passenger list also included an 11-year-old boy.
LUCKY ESCAPE
Freddy Belisario, an insurance company worker, consideredhimself a survivor. He has been scheduled to take the flightbut moved up his trip to Caracas by a few hours "on animpulse."
"It's a day when I was not on the list (to die). My timewas not due. If you look for a reason, you won't find one," hetold Reuters, adding he would not be flying for a while because"I don't want to push my luck."
Family members who had waited for the passengers to arrivein Caracas received help from psychologists to deal withanxiety. They were set to fly near to the crash site.
The plane wreckage was at least a three-hour hike from aroad that can be reached from the city of Barinas in westernVenezuela, which was a hub for the rescue operation.
Pilots need special training to fly from Merida's airportbecause the city is so tightly hemmed in by mountains thatplanes must make steep ascents at takeoff.
Visibility at dusk becomes so difficult planes are onlyallowed to take off during daylight. The plane involved inThursday's incident was the day's last flight out.
Santa Barbara is a small Venezuelan airline that coversdomestic routes and has seven Merida flights a day. The planewas an ATR 42-300, a turboprop aircraft built by French-Italiancompany ATR.
The ATR 42 series has been involved in at least 17accidents since first flying in 1984, according to the AviationSafety Network, a private air safety monitoring agency.
The French Bureau of Investigation and ATR team ofspecialists were going to Venezuela to assist the VenezuelanInvestigation Authorities, the plane's manufactures said.
ATR is a joint venture between EADS and Finmeccanica.
Thursday's was the second major air accident in Venezuelathis year. Last month a plane carrying 14 people, includingeight Italians and one Swiss passenger, crashed into the seaclose to a group of Venezuelan islands.
(Additional reporting by Brian Ellsworth, Ana IsabelMartinez; Writing by Saul Hudson; Editing by Brian Ellsworthand Bill Trott)
