Accra – Léopoldville
Flight / Schedule
Accra – Léopoldville
Aircraft
Douglas DC-4Registration
YK-AAR
MSN
43097
Year of Manufacture
1947
Operator
Syrian AirwaysDate
September 1, 1960 at 12:00 AM
Type
CRASHFlight Type
Cargo
Flight Phase
Flight
Crash Site
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Crash Location
Mpouya Plateaux
Region
Africa • Congo
Coordinates
-2.6150°, 16.2129°
Crash Cause
Technical failure
Narrative Report
On September 1, 1960 at 12:00 AM, Accra – Léopoldville experienced a crash involving Douglas DC-4, operated by Syrian Airways, with the event recorded near Mpouya Plateaux.
The flight was categorized as cargo and the reported phase was flight at a lake, sea, ocean, river crash site.
14 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 14 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.
Crew on board: 5, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 9, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.
The listed crash cause is technical failure. While performing a cargo flight from Accra to Léopoldville, the crew encountered technical problems with the engines and elected to make an emergency landing. Eventually, the captain decided to ditch the aircraft in the Congo River off Mpouya, about 230 km northeast of Léopoldville. While the aircraft sank and was lost, all 14 occupants were rescued.
Aircraft reference details include registration YK-AAR, MSN 43097, year of manufacture 1947.
Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately -2.6150°, 16.2129°.
Fatalities
Total
0
Crew
0
Passengers
0
Other
0
Crash Summary
While performing a cargo flight from Accra to Léopoldville, the crew encountered technical problems with the engines and elected to make an emergency landing. Eventually, the captain decided to ditch the aircraft in the Congo River off Mpouya, about 230 km northeast of Léopoldville. While the aircraft sank and was lost, all 14 occupants were rescued.
Cause: Technical failure
Occupants & Outcome
Crew On Board
5
Passengers On Board
9
Estimated Survivors
14
Fatality Rate
0.0%
Known people on board: 14
Operational Details
Schedule / Flight
Accra – Léopoldville
Operator
Syrian AirwaysFlight Type
Cargo
Flight Phase
Flight
Crash Site
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Region / Country
Africa • Congo
Aircraft Details
Similar Plane Crashes
Mexicana de Aviación
Douglas DC-4
After takeoff from Mexico City International Airport, the crew informed ATC that the aircraft caught fire and elected to return. The captain realized this was not possible and attempted an emergency landing in a field located few km from the airport. On touchdown, the aircraft slid for several yards and came to rest in flames. All 47 occupants escaped uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
SABENA - Société Anonyme Belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation Aérienne
Douglas DC-4
Following an uneventful flight from Shannon, the crew started the descent to Gander Airport by night and in poor weather conditions. Most probably in a way to establish a visual contact with the ground, the captain reduced his altitude and passed below the minimum safe altitude when the aircraft hit trees and crashed in flames in a dense wooded area located 35 km from the airport. A crew member and 16 passengers were rescued while 27 other occupants were killed.
United Airlines
Douglas DC-4
An approach from the west was then decided on by the Captain as visibility there had been fair. The First Officer contacted the tower and was cleared to land on Runway 12 (to the southeast). While headed west the Captain started a gradual left turn at the western boundary of the field, continued it for a short time and then entered a right turn in an attempt to line up with and land on Runway 12. This right turn was continued at an altitude of some 200 feet above the ground with, wheels down, 15 degree of flap and airspeed of approximately 120 mph (once as low as 110 mph). The Captain instructed the First Officer, who occupied the right hand pilot seat, (on the low and field side of the turn) to "sing out" when he saw the field. When the First Officer did see it he said "There's the field at 2 o'clock" (at a relative bearing of 60 degree). The Captain then leaned to the right to see the field himself and during this momentary diversion from the instruments enough altitude was lost to permit the right wing tip to strike the ground. The site was on rolling prairie approximately 20 feet higher than, and about 1 1/2 miles northwest of the Cheyenne Airport, on the U. S. Military Reservation of Fort Warren. At the instant of impact the aircraft was still in a right turn, banked approximately 15 degree and headed northeast. It came to rest about 700 feet beyond the point of first impact. A gasoline fire developed on the ground along the crash path and the right wing, which had been torn from the fuselage, was partly burned. Two passengers were killed while most of the other occupants were injured, some of them seriously.
United Airlines
Douglas DC-4
The four engine aircraft landed on a wet runway. After touchdown, it was unable to stop within the remaining distance, overran and came to rest 200 feet further on. All 45 occupants were uninjured and quickly disembarked while the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair due to severe damages to the fuselage.
Avianca
Douglas DC-4
The crew started the descent to Bogotá-Techo in poor weather conditions with clouds and fog. At an altitude of 10,500 feet, the four engine aircraft hit the slope of Mt El Tablazo en Supatá located about 42 km north of Bogotá. The aircraft crashed and disintegrated. All 53 occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the mountain was shrouded in clouds and the aircraft hit the mountain about two meters below the summit. Up to date, this accident was the worst in civil aviation history.
United Airlines
Douglas DC-4
Flight 521 taxied from its parked position, rolled onto Runway 18, and without pause or hesitation accelerated for take-off. The throttles were advanced. Air speed increased to above 90 miles per hour. Captain Baldwin applied back pressure to the control column, but the "feel" of the controls was "heavy," and the aircraft did not respond. As the aircraft raced toward the boundary of the field, Captain Baldwin decided to discontinue his take-off. About 1,000 feet from the south and of the runway he applied brakes, ordering the co-pilot at the same time to cut the engines. A ground-loop was attempted by heavy application of left brake. The aircraft, however, proceeded to roll straight ahead. Then, in the both brakes locked it continued over the remainder of the runway, crashed through the fence at the airport boundary, and half-bounced, half-flew across the Grand Central Parkway. The aircraft finally came to rest immediately east of the Casey Jones School of Aeronautics, a distance of 800 feet from the end of Runway 18 and 1,700 feet from the point at which brakes were first applied. It was almost immediate enveloped in flames. The captain, another crew member and three passengers were rescued while 43 other occupants were killed.