One of 157 Tomahawks built in Chincul’s Pocito (S.J.) plan under Piper’s Foreign Assembly Program (line number 39), the aircraft was designated “PA-A-38-112” (the middle “-A-” denoting Argentine manufacturing) carrying c/n AR38-78A0624 and Chincul’s peculiar line number AR-0160. Purchased by the Argentine Air Force, it was delivered under “Plan Forjando Alas” (Program “Forging Wings”, which in the late 1970s funded delivery of PA-38s and several other light aircraft to flying clubs throughout the nation) to Aeroclub Río de la Plata (Río de la Plata Flying Club), its sole operator throughout its 20+ years career.
Variants:
PA-A-38-112 Tomahawk (built 06/05/1979).
Identities:
LV-MRE (registered 08/22/1979).
Owners or operators:
Chincul (06/1979), Aeroclub Río de la Plata (08/22/1979).
Accidents & incidents:
- 09/15/1994: Collision on runway with Bonanza V35 LV-NXG due to converging approaches from different altitudes while landing in Ezpeleta (B.A.).
- 12/16/2001: Run off runway while landing at Coronel Brandsen (B.A.), damaging left wing.
Fate:
Recovered to Ezpeleta (B.A.), with fuselage stored inside a club hangar and the right wing decorating the flying club’s bar through 07/2021.
Acknowledgements: Sergio Berdyszak, DAD/Baires Aviation Photography, Alberto O. Domínguez, Julián Lima, Gabriel Pavlovcic y Esteban Santillán. Bibliography: Marón + Ghiretti: “Aquellos aviones de Pocito” (Argentina, 2020) and Pavlovcic + Magnusson + Raczynski: “Catálogo completo de aeronaves civiles argentinas registradas” (Argentina, 2016). Other sources: Toda la Aviación @ Facebook.
