Mecca - Benghazi - Tripoli
Flight / Schedule
Mecca - Benghazi - Tripoli
Aircraft
Tupolev TU-154Registration
LZ-BTN
MSN
74A054
Year of Manufacture
1974
Operator
Balkan Bulgarian AirlinesDate
December 2, 1977 at 12:00 AM
Type
CRASHFlight Type
Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)
Flight Phase
Landing (descent or approach)
Crash Site
Desert
Crash Location
Al Bayda Jabal al Akhdar (<U+0627><U+0644><U+062C><U+0628><U+0644> <U+0627><U+0644><U+0627><U+062E><U+0636><U+0631>)
Region
Africa • Libya
Crash Cause
Technical failure
Narrative Report
On December 2, 1977 at 12:00 AM, Mecca - Benghazi - Tripoli experienced a crash involving Tupolev TU-154, operated by Balkan Bulgarian Airlines, with the event recorded near Al Bayda Jabal al Akhdar (<U+0627><U+0644><U+062C><U+0628><U+0644> <U+0627><U+0644><U+0627><U+062E><U+0636><U+0631>).
The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a desert crash site.
165 people were known to be on board, 59 fatalities were recorded, 106 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 35.8%.
Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 159, passenger fatalities: 59, other fatalities: 0.
The listed crash cause is technical failure. The aircraft was completing a charter flight from Mecca to Tripoli with an intermediate stop in Benghazi, carrying Libyan pilgrims flying back home. While descending to Benghazi Airport, the crew was instructed by ATC to divert to Al Bayda as the airport was closed due to foggy conditions. In the area of Al Bayda, the crew was unable to locate the airport due to fog and completed several circuits when the airplane ran out of fuel. The pilot-in-command attempted an emergency landing in a desert area located few km from Al Bayda Airport when the aircraft crashed. 59 passengers were killed while 46 others occupants were injured and 60 escaped uninjured.
Aircraft reference details include registration LZ-BTN, MSN 74A054, year of manufacture 1974.
Fatalities
Total
59
Crew
0
Passengers
59
Other
0
Crash Summary
The aircraft was completing a charter flight from Mecca to Tripoli with an intermediate stop in Benghazi, carrying Libyan pilgrims flying back home. While descending to Benghazi Airport, the crew was instructed by ATC to divert to Al Bayda as the airport was closed due to foggy conditions. In the area of Al Bayda, the crew was unable to locate the airport due to fog and completed several circuits when the airplane ran out of fuel. The pilot-in-command attempted an emergency landing in a desert area located few km from Al Bayda Airport when the aircraft crashed. 59 passengers were killed while 46 others occupants were injured and 60 escaped uninjured.
Cause: Technical failure
Occupants & Outcome
Crew On Board
6
Passengers On Board
159
Estimated Survivors
106
Fatality Rate
35.8%
Known people on board: 165
Operational Details
Schedule / Flight
Mecca - Benghazi - Tripoli
Operator
Balkan Bulgarian AirlinesFlight Type
Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)
Flight Phase
Landing (descent or approach)
Crash Site
Desert
Region / Country
Africa • Libya
Aircraft Details
Similar Plane Crashes
L'Aéropostale
Nieuport-Delage NiD-641
The aircraft departed Paris-Le Bourget on a mail flight to Saigon, carrying three crew members. Intermediate stops were scheduled in Marseille, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, Benghazi, Cairo, Basra, Agra, Allahabad, Calcutta, Akyab and Yangon. En route from Tripoli to Benghazi, the aircraft crashed in the Mediterranean Sea in unknown circumstances. As the airplane failed to arrive in Benghazi, SAR operations were initiated and on December 23, the crew of an Italian ship found the wreckage and the dead bodied on a beach located near Sirte. Crew: Edmond Lasalle, pilot, Mr. Reybard, radio navigator, Mr. Faltot, engineer.
Private French
Caudron C.630 Simoun
The Caudron C.630 Simoun with s/n 7042 was ordered in July 1935, built and delivered to its owner Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in September 1935. After several trips in Africa, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry decided at the end of December to fly from Paris to Saigon to establish a new record. After 19 hours and 38 minutes of flight, while cruising by night over the Libyan desert, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls. The crew decided first to climb to 2,500 meters but cumulus were still there so he reduced his altitude to 1,000 meters then 400 meters and lower until the aircraft struck a sandy ground and crashed. Both occupants were uninjured but walked away for four days without water or any food before being rescued. The aircraft was written off.
Ala Littoria
CRDA CANT Z.506
On approach to Benghazi, one of the three engines exploded. The pilot decided to hurry the descent but the seaplane hit the mast of a boat and crashed in a huge explosion into the bay off Benghazi. While the radio navigator was seriously injured, all nine others occupants were killed.
British Airways
Lockheed 14 Super Electra
Less than one hour after his departure from El Salloum Airport, at the border between Egypt and Libya, the pilot sent a mayday message due to unknown technical problems. He was forced to ditch the aircraft off the Libyan coast. The crew of a ship was quickly on the scene and was able to rescue six occupants, among them the pilot, while five other occupants were killed.
Royal Air Force - RAF
Bristol 130 Bombay
The aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances in the Libyan desert while on its way to el-Gubba, east of Tobruk. W/O N. P. Donnelly survived and became a PoW while four other occupants were killed. Crew (216th Squadron): F/S Benjamin T. M. Baker, pilot, F/L John B. W. Smith, pilot LAC Alfred F. Crohill, Cpl William C. Royle, wireless operator and air gunner, W/O N. P. Donnelly. Special thanks to Nigel Hartley for his testimony.
Regia Aeronautica
Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero
The three engine aircraft left El Feteyat Airfield at 1700LT bound for Tobruk. Half way down, the crew informed ground he was about 160 km east of his departure point. While approaching Tobruk, the aircraft was hit by flak, went out of control and crashed in flames in the desert, some 60 km west of Tobruk. All nine occupants were killed, among them the Italian Minister of Aviation Italo Balbo. Crew: Marechal Italo Balbo, Pilot, Major Ottavio Frailich, copilot, Captain Gino Cappannini, flight engineer, Sergeant-Major Giuseppe Berti, radio navigator, Enrico Caretti, Lino Balbo, Claudio Brunelli, Nello Quilici, Cino Florio.