Military | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

Shortly after takeoff from Chania-Souda Airport, en route to a US Navy ship cruising in the Mediterranean Sea, the airplane suffered a double engine failure and crashed into the sea about 8 km offshore. Three crew members were rescued while seven others were killed.

Probable cause:

The exact cause of the double engine failure could not be determined. However, the assumption of a fuel contaminated by water was not ruled out.

Crash of a Douglas AC-47B in Battambang

Date & Time: Nov 6, 1973

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Operator:

Registration:

43-48805

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

MSN:

14621/26066

YOM:

1943

Location:

Battambang

Country:

Cambodia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crashed on takeoff for unknown reason. There were no casualties.

Crash of a Grumman HU-16B Albatross near Quilpué: 3 killed

Date & Time: Nov 1, 1973

Type of aircraft:

Grumman HU-16 (SA-16) Albatross

Operator:

Registration:

251

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

En route, a technical problem occurred on the fuel supply system, causing a loss of engine power. The captain elected to fly over the mountains surrounding Quilpué on one engine but the seaplane struck a hill and crashed. Three crew members were killed while three others were injured.

Probable cause:

Loss of engine power caused by a technical problem on the fuel supply system.

Crash of a Dornier DO.28B-1 Agur near Suez

Date & Time: Oct 21, 1973

Type of aircraft:

Dornier DO.28A/B

Operator:

Registration:

016

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

3071

Location:

Suez

Country:

Egypt

Region:

Africa

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The pilot of an Egyptian Air Force MiG-21 shot down the Israel DO.28 with a SAM-3 air-air missile. The aircraft crash landed in a desert area located about 15 km southeast of Suez. The aircraft was destroyed and all three occupants were taken PoW.

Probable cause:

Shot down by an Egyptian Air Force fighter.

Crash of an Avia 14T in Veszprém: 1 killed

Date & Time: Sep 29, 1973

Type of aircraft:

Avia 14

Operator:

Registration:

3155

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Brno – Szentkirályszabadja

MSN:

178 013 155

YOM:

1960

Location:

Szentkirályszabadja AFB

Veszprém

Country:

Hungary

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The airplane departed Brno at 0704LT with a crew of five and 18 passengers on board, bound for Hungary. Following an uneventful flight at an altitude of 2,750 meters, the crew started the descent to the airbase of Szentkirályszabadja located southeast of Veszprém when he was informed by ATC that the visibility was limited to 1,000 meters at destination due to fog. The captain informed the rest of the crew he would continue the approach until the minimum altitude of 100 meters and will perform a go-around manoeuvre in case he would not have the runway in sight. On final approach, the visibility decreased to 500 meters and the pilot-in-command realized that the radio-altimeter showed 20 meters so he decided to make a go around when the airplane struck the ground 500 meters short of runway 34 threshold. The airplane bounced and then crashed in flames 200 meters further. All 23 occupants were injured and evacuated, four of them seriously. Few hours later, the radio operator died from his injuries.
Crew:
Maj Oldřich Prchal, pilot,
Maj František Káňa, copilot,
Maj Antonín Pisklák, flight engineer,
Lt Jan Hynšt, radio operator, †
Maj Vlastimil Palán, technician.
Source: www.leteckabadatelna.cz/havarie-a-sestrely/detail/636/

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-1-DK in Ankara

Date & Time: Sep 27, 1973

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Operator:

Registration:

43-6022

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

MSN:

14153/25598

YOM:

1944

Location:

Ankara-Etimesgut

Central Anatolia Region (İç Anadolu Bölgesi)

Country:

Turkey

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crashed on landing for unknown reason. There were no casualties.

Crash of a Grumman SA-16A Albatross near Las Palmas

Date & Time: Sep 3, 1973 at 0730 LT

Type of aircraft:

Grumman HU-16 (SA-16) Albatross

Operator:

Registration:

AD.1-5

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Las Palmas – Jerez de la Frontera

MSN:

G-56

YOM:

1951

Location:

Las Palmas-Gando (Gran Canaria)

Canary Islands

Country:

Spain

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The seaplane departed Las Palmas-Gando Airport at 0655LT bound for Jerez de la Frontera. Few minutes later, the crew informed ATC about an engine failure and was eventually forced to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft crash landed in a rocky field and was damaged beyond repair. A crew member was slightly injured.

Probable cause:

Engine failure.

Crash of a Lockheed C-141A-10-LM Starlifter in Hueva: 24 killed

Date & Time: Aug 28, 1973 at 2145 LT

Type of aircraft:

Lockheed C-141 Starlifter

Operator:

Registration:

63-8077

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Athens - Madrid - McGuire

MSN:

6008

YOM:

1963

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

14372

Circumstances:

The C-141 departed Athens for a night-time flight to Madrid, the first leg of a flight back to McGuire AFB. The crew were cleared for an ILS approach to Torrejon's runway 23. Weather was reported as 20,000 foot overcast, with 10 NM visibility. During the descent the crew forgot to use the Descent Checklist. Thus, the crew had failed to set their altimeters from 29.92" to the local altimeter setting of 30.17". Additionally, they did not turn on the radar altimeter. While at FL60 the crew was given a clearance to a lower altitude. Because of heavy radio traffic, the clearance was garbled. They were not sure if the controller had cleared them down to 5000 or 3000 feet. They agreed that it must have been 3000 feet. They read back "three thousand feet", but the controller failed to notice the error. When reporting "passing 5000 for 3000" to another controller, the error again was not noticed. Nearing 3000 feet, the navigator noticed a hill ahead and above their altitude, but the pilot reassured him that "everything looks clear ahead", with the lights of the air base visible in the valley below. At an altitude of 3050 feet, at a speed of 250 kts, the airplane impacted terrain near the edge of a plateau, 40 km east of the Torrejón Air Force Base. It became airborne again, rolled over and disintegrated in a field. The navigator survived while 24 other occupants were killed.
Crew:
Cpt Clinton Clifford Corbin, pilot, †
Cpt Thomas R. Dietz, pilot, †
1st Lt William A. Kuhn, copilot, †
T/Sgt Edward Peter Babcock, flight engineer, †
T/Sgt Donald R. Wells, flight engineer, †
Maj Friedrich Hugo Lamers, navigator, †
1st Lt William Haskel Ray, navigator
T/Sgt Sidney Nathaniel Hillsman, load master. †
Passengers:
Cpl Edward Anthony Fanelli,
Lt Col Austin Frederick Balkman
Teresa Ann Wilcox
T2c Donald Lee Rhodes
Charles 'Chuck' Edward Hyatt
William Moore O'Connor
Cpl Sandra Rae Canton
Sgt Barry Gale Canton
Georgia Lord
Charles Edward Lord
Monteal Massey
Frank Bullard Massey
Janice Lynn Barron
Clifford Elbert Barron
Michael L. Merricks
Robert L. Holloway
Lt Chris Louis Katsetos.

Probable cause:

No technical anomalies were found in the airplane and its components, equipment and instruments. The flying crew failed to follow approach procedures and descended to an unsafe altitude following a misinterpretation of the ATC clearance. A lack of crew coordination, a wrong planned approach and crew fatigue (eight hours of rest during last 60 hours) were considered as contributing factors.

Crash of a Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan near Villa Milpa Alta: 4 killed

Date & Time: Aug 20, 1973

Type of aircraft:

Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan

Operator:

Registration:

BHB-1532

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Mexico City - Acapulco

MSN:

4944

YOM:

1943

Location:

Villa Milpa Alta

Federal District of Mexico City

Country:

Mexico

Region:

Central America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Few minutes after takeoff from Mexico City-Benito Juarez Airport, while climbing, the twin engine airplane struck the slope of a mountain located near Villa Milpa Alta, about 30 km south of the airport. The aircraft was destroyed and all four occupants were killed.