Apia - Apia

On May 11, 1966 at 06:10 PM, Apia - Apia experienced a crash involving Douglas DC-3, operated by Polynesian Airline of Samoa - Polynesian Airlines, with the event recorded near Apia All Samoa Islands.

The flight was categorized as training and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a lake, sea, ocean, river crash site.

3 people were known to be on board, 3 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The crew departed Apia-Faleolo Airport around 1735LT for a local training flight, carrying three pilots. After several circuits in the area, the crew decided to return to the airport when, at an altitude of 3,000 feet, the airplane went out of control, entered a dive and eventually crashed into the Apolima Strait, few km off shore. Few debris were found floating on water while the main wreckage was not recovered. All three crew members were killed, among them the Chief Pilot and General Manager of the company.

Aircraft reference details include registration 5W-FAB, MSN 13996/25441, year of manufacture 1944.