Dakar - Cap Skirring

On February 9, 1992 at 05:15 AM, Dakar - Cap Skirring experienced a crash involving Convair CV-640, operated by Gambcrest, with the event recorded near Kafountine Ziguinchor Region.

The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a plain, valley crash site.

59 people were known to be on board, 31 fatalities were recorded, 28 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 52.5%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 6, passengers on board: 53, passenger fatalities: 25, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The aircraft was completing a charter flight from Dakar to Cap Skirring on behalf of the Club Mediterranée, carrying 53 tourists from France, Belgium and Switzerland and six crew members. By night, the crew started the descent prematurely when the aircraft struck trees and crashed in a swampy area located south of Kafountine, about 52 km north of Cap Skirring Airport runway 14. The aircraft was destroyed and 31 occupants were killed, among them all six crew members. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were good. Built in 1952, the aircraft was owned by a Gambian company near bankrupt and insurance bills have not been paid. Among the crew were one Russian stewardess, an American captain aged 67 and a Norwegian copilot aged 31. The were not familiar with the region and the aircraft was not maintain according to published procedures as at least 16 instruments were out of order at the time of the accident, among them one altimeter. The aircraft was operated illegally under the registration of its ex operator as the Gambian owner company failed to proceed to the official deregistration / re-registration of the aircraft. Thus the aircraft was not compliant with regulations in force.

Aircraft reference details include registration N862FW, MSN 9, year of manufacture 1966.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 12.9276°, -16.7364°.