August 16: A Colombian plane operated by West Caribbean Airways crashed in western Venezuela after reporting engine problems. All 160 on board were killed.
The McDonnell Douglas MD-82 was headed from Panama to Martinique when the pilot requested permission to make an emergency landing just after 3 a.m. Airport authorities lost radio contact with the plane 10 minutes later, near the border with Colombia.
Photograph: ANDREW ALVAREZ/AFP/Getty Images