Two Men Uncover Mysterious Fate of Flight 980

5. Bolivian Mountains

Mount Illimani, in Bolivia, is a 21,122-foot mass of rocks and glaciers rising from the eastern edge of Bolivia's Altiplano region. The mountain towers over El Alto International Airport in La Paz, where Flight 980 was supposed to be landing. Flight 980 hit nose-first on the back side of Illimani, just below the summit and probably burst apart as it cartwheeled forward. Those who lived in La Paz remember the whole valley shaking that day.

6. Investigating the Site

Once they were dispatched, it took airline and Bolivian investigators a number of days to locate the wreckage. Though the Bolivian air force had almost immediately mobilized a team to get to the crash site, a recent storm had dumped several feet of snow on the site. The ensuing avalanche forced the team to turn back. Desperate to find any survivors, the agencies asked to borrow a high-altitude helicopter from Peru to help in the search, but international relations slowed the progress of the search, and the crash wasn't found for days…