The Avianca Flight 52 aircraft was a Boeing 707-321B (registration number HK-2016). The aircraft was manufactured in June 1967 and was purchased by Avianca from Pan Am in 1977. By the time of the crash, the aircraft was 22 years old and had over 61,000 flight hours. The 707 was equipped with four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B engines modified with a hush kit to reduce noise pollution. Avianca personnel reported that they factored in a five-percent fuel overburn into the performance calculations due to the hush kit along with an additional five-percent overburn due to the age of the aircraft. Additionally, maintenance crews had noted recurring issues with the aircraft's autopilot, including the altitude hold function. These same issues were reported on the aircraft's penultimate flight, however maintenance was unable to fix the autopilot, and it was disabled as a result.