Each of the 29 names represents a person who boarded a charter flight in Mendoza on the afternoon of October 13, 1972, expecting to be in Santiago by evening. The documentation of their deaths — in some cases very detailed, in others sparse — is part of the historical record of the crash. They are not incidental to the survival story; they are part of it. The sixteen who survived were surrounded for 72 days by the absence of the twenty-nine who did not.
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## The Rescue That Almost Wasn’t
The rescue on December 22 and 23 was not straightforward. The same terrain and weather that had made the crash site invisible during the original search made helicopter operations extremely challenging.
The Chilean Air Force Bell UH-1 helicopters that conducted the rescue were designed for military utility purposes. At 3,660 meters altitude, their lifting capacity was significantly reduced — a helicopter that could carry a full load at sea level carries much less at high altitude because the thinner air provides less rotor lift. The valley was narrow, with ridges on both sides that required precise piloting. The prevailing winds in the Andes are variable and can shift rapidly.
On December 22, three helicopters flew toward the crash site with Parrado guiding one of them. The plan was to evacuate all sixteen survivors in a single operation. The helicopters reached the site, but the altitude limitations and the size of the group meant that all sixteen could not be evacuated that day. Eight survivors were flown out on December 22. Four rescuers were left at the crash site overnight with the remaining eight survivors, keeping them company and providing some supplies.