De Havilland DH.114 Heron

The Aviaco flight departed Zaragoza at 1919LT for a flight to Barcelona. At 2006LT the aircraft reported on a wide base leg and asked visibility data. Another aircraft (EC-AEJ) was ready for departure from Barcelona at that moment, but takeoff permission had been refused. When the Aviaco Heron reported 5 minutes away, the EC-AEJ aircraft was cleared for takeoff. Shortly thereafter both planes were flying at 150 m altitude on intersecting tracks. The Heron was forced to take a sudden avoidance manoeuvre and lost control. The plane crashed into the sea off Castelldefels and was lost. All 16 occupants have been killed.

The aircraft was on a ferry flight from Athens, Greece to Ciampino Airport, Rome - it was being transferred from Bahrain to England to be checked and to undergo certain modifications. It had departed Athens at 1407Z on an IFR flight plan and later reported that it expected to fly over Caraffa at 1730 and requested clearance to fly at a lower level. This clearance was not granted since the flight level requested was below the safety minimum for that route segment. There were no further contacts with the aircraft. It crashed between 1735Z and 1808Z on the southeast slope of Mt Scifarello at a height of approximately 1,730 metres (5 675 ft). The 3 crew aboard were killed and the aircraft was destroyed.

The aircraft was on a scheduled passenger transport flight between Barcelona and Palma, Majorca. It took off from Barcelona at 1919LT. At 2002LT it reported to the Palma, Majorca Area Control Centre that it was above the MJ radio beacon at flight level 60. It was cleared by the Centre for an ADF approach to the Son Bonet Airport and at 2008LT it hit a mountain located 14.5 km from the airport. The 2 crew members and the 2 passengers were killed, and the aircraft was completely destroyed.

EC-AOA departed Barajas Airport, Madrid, on the morning of 26 October on a scheduled passenger transport flight to San Sebastian-Fuenterrabia Airport. Brake failure occurred on landing and the aircraft left the field and fell into a slough in the estuary of the Bidassoa River, approximately 20 metres from the airport limits. As a result of the accident, a passenger suffered a fractured arm, and two other passengers were slightly injured. The remaining 14 passengers and the crew were uninjured. The aircraft was destroyed.

The four engine aircraft departed Glasgow Airport with a crew of two and a doctor who were flying to Port Ellen to pick up a patient. The approach to Port Ellen was started by night and marginal weather conditions. While making a turn to join the runway path, the airplane struck the ground with its left wing, cartwheeled and crashed. All three occupants were killed and the aircraft was destroyed.

The aircraft departed Vaernes Airport, Trondheim, at 0830LT on a scheduled flight to Oslo, carrrying a crew of two and ten passengers. The aircraft entered clouds at 2,500 feet right after take-off and did not have visual contact with the ground thereafter. The copilot later stated that between Vaernes and Tolga when the aircraft reached cruising altitude, normal cruise power was set up but the resultant indicated airspeed was 20 knots below normal. The aircraft reported that at 0912 hours it had passed Tolga radio beacon at 8 000 feet (2,438 m), and that it was experiencing light icing. This was the last radio contact with the aircraft. From this point on it appears that the icing increased rapidly and the aircraft started to lose altitude, even though the de-icing system for wing and tail planes was in use. At 0925 hours it was decided to return to Vaernes Airport.The aircraft, when approximately abeam Tolga and to the east, altered its course 25 to 30 degrees northeast. This maneuver, carried out by the captain, was interpreted by the co-pilot to mean that he had decided to divert to Rhos. The controls were taken over by the copilot while the captain continued to try to establish radio contact with the ground on frequency 126,7 mc/s. No signals were picked up. At approximately 0950 hours the aircraft hit Hummelfjell at a height of approximately 1,350 metres. At the time of the crash the aircraft was in heavy fog, with cockpit window covered with ice to an extent which drastically reduced the crew's visibility. The force of the impact was somewhat reduced in that the aircraft touched down in a bowl in the terrain and made two bounces on the snow, which covered the mountain to a depth of 40 cm, before settling down. The captain and one passenger died instantly.

The four engine aircraft left Yaoundé at 1658LT four a short flight to Douala, ETA 1730LT. While cruising in marginal weather conditions, the aircraft hit the slope of Mt Koupé (2,064 meters high) located about 80 km north of Douala. As the airplane failed to arrive, SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the 12 occupants was found. On 19 February 1956, walkers found the wreckage in a dense wooded area on Mt Koupé.

During the takeoff roll, the pilot-in-command noted a loss of power on engine number two and decided to abandon the takeoff procedure and started an emergency braking maneuver. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the four engine aircraft overran, lost its undercarriage and came to rest few dozen yards further. All 14 occupants were evacuated safely while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.