The Douglas C54 Skymaster aircraft, tail number TC48, of the Argentine Air Force, left the Military Aviation School (Escuela de Aviación Militar, EAM), in the city of Córdoba, on October 31, 1965, with a destination at the USAF San Francisco Military Air Base, California, USA.

Together with another Douglas C54, tail number T43, carried the thirty-first class of the Military Aviation School cadets on their graduation trip of instruction.

The age of the aircraft and the distance they had to travel required to make scheduled stopovers in Antofagasta (Chile), Lima (Peru), Guayaquil (Ecuador), the Panama Howard Base (Panama), San Salvador (El Salvador), and Mexico City (Mexico).

On Wednesday, November 3, 1965, very early in the morning, both planes took off from the Howard Base in Panama, headed for the Ilopango International Airport, El Salvador.

The TC48, carrying fifty-four 22-year-old cadets and 14 crewmembers, was reported in emergency 40 minutes after the trip had started. It reported a fire in engine number 3 and requested routing for an immediate emergency landing.

The plane and its 68 passengers never reached their destination.