VW810

On May 17, 1953 at 12:00 AM, VW810 experienced a crash involving Vickers Valetta, operated by Royal Air Force - RAF, with the event recorded near Luqa All Malta.

The flight was categorized as military and the reported phase was takeoff (climb) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

22 people were known to be on board, 2 fatalities were recorded, 20 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 9.1%.

Crew on board: 4, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 18, passenger fatalities: 2, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. Shortly after takeoff from Luqa Airfield, while in initial climb, the aircraft banked slightly to the right, apparently due to jammed ailerons. The pilot-in-command decided to land back and the aircraft touched down past the runway end, in a grassy area. To avoid any collision with the controller's caravan, the crew raised the undercarriage. The airplane slid for several yards and the left wing hit the caravan and was sheared off before the airplane came to rest in flames. Two passengers were killed while 20 others were evacuated, three of them injured.

Aircraft reference details include registration VW810, MSN 371, year of manufacture 26.