Ankara-Esenboğa

The crew started the approach to Ankara-Esenboğa Airport by night and was cleared to descent from 9,000 to 8,000 feet to the runway 03. In low visibility, the airplane struck a snow covered mountain located 12 km from the runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed.

Middle East Airlines flight 265, a Vickers Viscount registered OD-ADE, was descending for Ankara-Esenboğa Airport, Turkey and had been cleared for an approach to runway 03. Last radio contact was at 13:09 hours GMT when the flight reported being over the Ankara NDB at 8000 feet, descending for 6500 feet. The crew would contact Ankara again over the NDB when inbound. Earlier in the day, at 11:22 GMT, a Douglas C-47 transport plane of the Turkish Air Force (CBK-28) had taken off from Ankara's Etimesgut Air Base for an instrument training flight in the southeast region of the Gölbasi beacon. The duration of the flight was planned for 1 hour 30 minutes . In this type of flight the student pilot is normally seated in the left-hand seat, an orange plexiglass panel is placed in front of him on the left half of the windshield, and he wears dark blue glasses. The instructor is in the right-hand seat and is able to maintain a lookout. The training manoeuvres had been completed, and the aircraft was returning to Etimesgut flying under visual flight rules by the time MEA flight 265 was descending for Esenboğa Airport. The Viscount, cruising on a heading of 283°, collided with the C-47 which was flying on a heading of 243° towards Etimesgut. The lower right-hand-side of the Viscount's nose and the starboard wing struck the C-47 from behind at a 40° angle in the door area on its port side. Propeller no. 3 also struck the C-47's left horizontal stabilizer, cutting it off. The blade ends broke off and remained with the tail unit of the C-47 near the base of the left horizontal stabilizer. The blade of propeller no. 4 cut the underside of the tip of the right horizontal stabilizer. Both aircraft flew together for a very short time then separated. The tail unit of the C-47 having been cut off, the C-47 fell vertically immediately thereafter. Prior to being cut off, the left horizontal stabilizer of the C-47 damaged the starboard side skin covering of the Viscount in the vicinity of the passenger cabin windows. This piece of skin covering broke off, and some of the passengers fell out through this hole. The Viscount flew a very short while following the separation of the two aircraft, then nosed down and fell. Both aircraft crashed into a residential area of Ankara, killing 87 people on the ground. 50 others were seriously injured.

The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from London to Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Ankara, Nicosia and Tel Aviv. From Istanbul the flight was operated by British European Airways on behalf of Cyprus Airways. The operating crew, employed by BEA, consisted of a captain and two first officers. Also aboard were four cabin staff employed by Cyprus Airways and 27 passengers. The trip to Ankara was normal. The time between landing and starting engines at Ankara was 46 minutes during which light snow was falling. (At take-off the aircraft had a light covering of snow on the upper surface of its wings, however, this deposit had no bearing on the accident). The radio-telephony tape recording showed that the aircraft taxied out along the short taxiway, then back-tracked up the runway to its take-off position on runway 21 at the intersection with the longer taxiway. The runway length available from this position was 9,027 feet. Take-off weight was 53 465 kg, i.e. 18 185 kg below maximum permissible weight or 1 085 kg below the regulated take-off weight. The takeoff run as to distance and time was quite normal, as also were rotation and unstick. The first abnormality occurred a second or two after unstick when the aircraft rapidly assumed an excessively steep climbing angle. One witness put the angle achieved as about twice the normal, another as 45° to 50°. There was also evidence from witnesses of a wing drop and of variations in the engine noise during this climb. The aircraft stalled with the left wing down at a height of about 450 ft then sank to the ground in a relatively flat attitude. The accident site was 1 600 m and on a bearing of 214° from Esenboğa Tower. The accident occurred at 2343LT. The aircraft was almost completely destroyed by impact and fire. All 7 crew and 20 passengers were killed. Six passengers were seriously injured.

The flight was scheduled Nicosia - Adana - Ankara. No mechanical difficulties were reported en route. While approaching Ankara, the aircraft descended from flight level 165 to 90, was cleared to land and reported to Esenboga Tower (Ankara). At 1801Z the pilot reported leaving the Ankara radio range. One minute later the aircraft crashed and burned, fatally injuring 4 crew and 24 passengers. One passenger survived the accident with minor injuries. The accident site was 18 km from the left side of the extended centreline of runway 03.

On an instrument approach to Ankara-Esenboğa Airport, while descending to an altitude of 3,500 feet heading 031, the airplane struck a hill located 9,6 km short of runway 03 threshold. The airplane was destroyed upon impact and all 42 occupants have been killed. For unknown reason, the aircraft passed below the glide and was 1,100 feet too low at the time of the accident.

The crew was completing a flight from Wheelus AFB (Mitiga) in Tripoli. While approaching Ankara-Esenboğa Airport, the pilot encountered low visibility due to poor weather conditions when the airplane struck a hill located 10 km short of runway. Three crew members were killed while five others were injured.