Douglas DC-6

Crashed in unknown circumstances. No casualties.

The aircraft was completing a humanitarian flight from Cotonou to Uli on behalf of the Red Cross International Comity, carrying a load of 10 tons of food. On final approach from the north by night, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions when the four engine aircraft struck the ground and crashed some 10 km north of Uli Airstrip, near the village of Ihiala. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire and all four crew members were killed.
Crew:
Karl Eric Baltze, pilot,
Hellmut Scharck, copilot,
Carl Goesta Sternhag, flight engineer,
Bo Valentin Almgren, loadmaster.

The four engine aircraft was returning to Buenos Aires following a reconnaissance mission over Antarctica. The approach to Mar del Plata Airport was initiated in very bad weather conditions when the airplane crashed in flames in a field located some six km short of runway. All 24 occupants escaped while the aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire.

The four engine aircraft with dual registration F-RAFB and 43748 was engaged in a flight from Saint-Denis de la Réunion to Paris with an intermediate stop at Djibouti City, on behalf of the Groupe de Liaisons Aériennes Ministérielles (GLAM). It arrived at Saint-Denis Airport in the morning and was supposed to stay an overnight in Saint-Denis. Thus, the crew was released for the day but finally called for a departure in the evening. 55 seconds after takeoff from runway 13 in light rain, the pilot was contacted by the controller at the airport who told him he was turning to the wrong direction and asked him to make an immediate turn to the left while gaining altitude. The pilot acknowledged the message when the left wing struck two araucarias and crashed in flames in a wooded area located about 5 km southeast of the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and only one passenger survived while 19 other occupants were killed, among them General Charles Ailleret, Chief of Staff of the French Army. He was returning to Paris following an inspection of the French troops stationed in the Indian Ocean. The only survivor was Mrs Michèle Renard, personal nurse of General Ailleret.
Crew:
Cpt Pradier, pilot, †
Cpt Gaëtan, pilot, †
S/Lt Roulot, pilot, †
Lt Pezet, radio navigator, †
Lt Dombey, radio navigator, †
S/Lt Brando, radio navigator, †
Adj Ferdonnet, mechanic, †
Adj Bouzereau, mechanic, †
Sgt Guiho, mechanic, †
Adj Berrier, steward, †
Sgt Burigo, steward, †
Sgt Rouzeau, steward. †
Passengers:
Gen Charles Ailleret, †
Mrs Liliane Ailleret, Gen Ailleret spouse, †
Mrs Annick Ailleret, Gen Ailleret daughter, †
Gen Henri Carles, chief of staff, †
Col Fehner, Aviation chief of staff, †
Cpt Philipon, Gen Ailleret personal doctor, †
Cpt Commerçon, Gen Ailleret personal aide, †
Mrs Michèle Renard, Gen Ailleret personal nurse.

The flight NB821, a non-scheduled air transport operation from Stockholm-Arlanda Airport to Gothenburg-Torslanda Airport, took off from Arlanda on 23 December 1967 at 0637 hours GMT. The aircraft was flown in accordance with an approved flight plan. The first approach was discontinued at critical height due to insufficient visual references. During the second approach the pilot-in-command took over the aircraft at a low altitude and landed. A heavy touchdown was made on runway 22 approximately 3,000 feet after the threshold at 0801 hours GMT. The aircraft sustained substantial damage and all 55 occupants were evacuated safely.

Suffered a ground accident at Mazatlán-General Rafael Buelna Airport. No casualties.

Crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in Salvador. All 12 occupants were killed, among them high ranking officers and family members.

While cruising at an altitude of 15,500 feet over Holmdel, New Jersey, the aircraft suffered an explosive decompression of the cabin. A 60 by 125 inches 'panel' detached from the fuselage and struck the engine number three, causing the detachment of its propeller. The crew started an emergency descent and was able to complete an emergency landing at New York Airport. All 14 occupants were evacuated safely while the aircraft was later declared as damaged beyond repair.

Flight 203 was a scheduled domestic flight from La Mesa Airport, Cortis Department, to Toncontín, Tegucigalpa, D.C., with three flight crew members, two stewardesses and fifty passengers on board. The gross weight of the aircraft at take-off was 75 023 lbs. After a routine pre-flight check which did not reveal any abnormality, the aircraft took off from La Mesa at 0815 hours. Its estimated flight time was 32 minutes and the en-route altitude was 7 500 ft. After 23 minutes of flight the aircraft contacted Toncontín control tower over "El Rancho" and requested authorization to use frequency 118.1 Mc/s. This was acknowledged by the tower which cleared the aircraft to enter the circuit for a landing on runway 01, the wind being calm. The crew then requested to use runway 19 but the tower refused because there was some traffic on runway 01 and several aircraft were waiting to land on that runway. The landing was initiated, 20° of flaps and the undercarriage were lowered; the pilot reported on base leg and extended the flaps to 300. According to the flight crew the indicated airspeed was 100 kt over the fence located before the threshold of runway 01. The landing was normal and smooth and immediately after the nose-wheel touched down the pilot-in-command called for withdrawal of the safety lock of the propeller reverse system. This was done; however the throttle controls would not shift to the desired position (rearward) to operate the propeller reverse system satisfactorily. Three consecutive attempts were made without success. The pilot evaluated the situation and, since the air- craft had passed the point where a go-around could be attempted, he decided to use the brakes only as they appeared to operate normally at the time. According to some reliable observers (aviation mechanics and tower controllers) one of the aircraft's tires burst approximately halfway down the runway and another tire, possibly on the opposite side, burst 50 m farther down. It was assumed that these tires were the two outermost tires. As the aircraft was nearing the end of the runway, the pilot-in-command became afraid of the pronounced slope ahead and veered to the left to execute a 180° turn (ground loop). The turn was successfully completed; however, due to the aircraft's inertia, the radius of the turn was too wide and the nose-wheel ran into a drainage ditch; the aircraft then skidded, the left undercarriage ran into the same ditch and stayed in it, the nose-wheel broke off, the left wing fuel tanks burst and the propellers of Nos. 1 and 4 engines were damaged. A fire resulting from the intense heat of the brakes and wheels, the spilled fuel and the dry grass immediately broke out and destroyed the aircraft. Four passengers were killed while 51 other occupants were evacuated. The aircraft was destroyed.

The crew was completing a cargo flight to Kelly AFB, San Antonio, Texas, on a subcontract for the US Air Force. While descending to Kelly AFB, the crew decided to divert to San Antonio-Intl Airport for unknown reason. While on a night approach, the pilot-in-command failed to realize his altitude was too low when the airplane struck trees, stalled and crashed in a cleef. The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed. At the time of the accident, the airplane was 1,100 feet below the glide.