while flying at 33,000 feet, the aircraft's speed decreased until it stalled. the crew, probably under the mistaken belief that the aircraft had suffered a double engine failure, did not take the necessary measures to recover from the loss of lift. after falling about 7,000 feet per minute with the engines at rest, the plane crashed in to mountains of northwestern venezuela, in a cattle ranch near machiques in the western state of zulia (about 30 kilometers from the border with colombia).