Geneva – Luqa – Cairo

Approaching Luqa Airport in Malta, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and decided to continue to Cairo directly. On approach to the Egyptian coast, fuel reserve were too low and the captain decided to divert to Alexandria. On final, the aircraft stalled (likely due to a double engine failure caused by a fuel exhaustion) and crashed into the Alexandria harbor, near the suburb of Ras-el-Tin. All 30 occupants were rescued (few of them were slightly injured) while the aircraft was lost.

Flight / Schedule

Geneva – Luqa – Cairo

Registration

ZS-AYB

MSN

19584

Year of Manufacture

1944

Date

January 15, 1949 at 12:00 AM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Flight Phase

Landing (descent or approach)

Crash Site

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Crash Location

Alexandria Alexandria

Region

Africa • Egypt

Coordinates

31.2162°, 29.9464°

Crash Cause

Technical failure

Narrative Report

On January 15, 1949 at 12:00 AM, Geneva – Luqa – Cairo experienced a crash involving Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3), operated by Pan African Air Charter, with the event recorded near Alexandria Alexandria.

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

30 people were known to be on board, 0 fatalities were recorded, 30 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 0.0%.

Crew on board: 4, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 26, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. Approaching Luqa Airport in Malta, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and decided to continue to Cairo directly. On approach to the Egyptian coast, fuel reserve were too low and the captain decided to divert to Alexandria. On final, the aircraft stalled (likely due to a double engine failure caused by a fuel exhaustion) and crashed into the Alexandria harbor, near the suburb of Ras-el-Tin. All 30 occupants were rescued (few of them were slightly injured) while the aircraft was lost.

Aircraft reference details include registration ZS-AYB, MSN 19584, year of manufacture 1944.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 31.2162°, 29.9464°.

Fatalities

Total

0

Crew

0

Passengers

0

Other

0

Crash Summary

Approaching Luqa Airport in Malta, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and decided to continue to Cairo directly. On approach to the Egyptian coast, fuel reserve were too low and the captain decided to divert to Alexandria. On final, the aircraft stalled (likely due to a double engine failure caused by a fuel exhaustion) and crashed into the Alexandria harbor, near the suburb of Ras-el-Tin. All 30 occupants were rescued (few of them were slightly injured) while the aircraft was lost.

Cause: Technical failure

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

4

Passengers On Board

26

Estimated Survivors

30

Fatality Rate

0.0%

Known people on board: 30

Operational Details

Schedule / Flight

Geneva – Luqa – Cairo

Flight Type

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Flight Phase

Landing (descent or approach)

Crash Site

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Region / Country

Africa • Egypt

Aircraft Details

Registration

ZS-AYB

MSN

19584

Year of Manufacture

1944

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