Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
On 12th October, 1972, the Old Christians Rugby Club from Uruguay were on a plane filled with friends and family, on the way to a tournament in Chile. While the flight was due to take 4 hours, they got warnings of storms raging in the Andes mountains as they passed through Argentina. To avoid risk, they grounded the plane in Mendoza and thought they’d try again the next day. But when the weather hadn’t improved by then, and military rules said they couldn’t stay in Argentina, the pilot was left with two options: head back or push on. Which would he choose?
On 12th October, 1972, the Old Christians Rugby Club from Uruguay were on a plane filled with friends and family, on the way to a tournament in Chile. While the flight was due to take 4 hours, they got warnings of storms raging in the Andes mountains as they passed through Argentina. To avoid risk, they grounded the plane in Mendoza and thought they’d try again the next day. But when the weather hadn’t improved by then, and military rules said they couldn’t stay in Argentina, the pilot was left with two options: head back or push on. Which would he choose?
