Cairo-Intl

The crew was completing a local training flight at Cairo-Intl Airport. After a training period of 3 hours and 14 minutes, the crew performed a low pass over runway 23 in a slight nose-up attitude. While initiating a climb, the pilot-in-command lost control of the airplane that crashed in flames near the runway end. The aircraft was destroyed and all six crew members were killed.

Flight 114 was an international scheduled service from Tripoli to Bahrain with intermediate stops in Benghazi and Cairo. On board were 104 passengers and a crew of nine, five from Air France, among them the captain, Mr. Jacques Bourgès, aged 42. Normally, the Benghazi – Cairo route was flown eastwards along the Libyan coast until reaching the city of Sidi Barrani in Egypt, where the airway turned inland to the VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) and Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) area located west of Lake Qarun. The entry to the Cairo terminal area was made on a north-easterly heading over a 71-nautical-mile (131 km) long path that separated Lake Qarun from the Cairo VOR. At 13:45 the Cairo traffic control (CTC) saw the aircraft approaching from the west. Permission was granted to land in runway 23. CTC surprisingly saw the Boeing heading eastward towards the Suez Canal at 13:50. Evidence from both the recovered Boeing 727 voice recorders and the Israeli authorities' flight data recorder later showed that the Libyan aircraft was likely to had been already off course when it reported its position over Qarun, probably due to strong westerly upper-level winds associated to a low level sandstorm. The crew was forced to rely on instrument navigation because of this sandstorm. Both instrument and navigational error caused the aircraft to go off course, entering airspace dominated by Israel when flying over the Sinai Peninsula. By this time the aircraft had been lost from the Egyptian air traffic control. The crew believed they were close to the destination airport and started the descent. At 13:55 the aircraft was detected in the radar by the Israelis as it was entering Israeli airspace; it was located south-east of Suez at an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,600 m). Two Israeli Air Force Phantoms were sent to intercept the then unidentified aircraft. Following the re-establishment of communications with CTC the pilot of the Libyan aircraft looked through the cabin's port window and saw the fighters, but he mistook them for Egyptian MiGs. The Libyan aircraft continued flying deeper into the Sinai at a speed of 325 miles per hour (523 km/h), but it suddenly veered to the west. It was at that time that the Boeing's crew realised they were having problems with their instruments. The Israeli fighter pilots attempted to make visual contact with the passenger airliner's crew, and tried to communicate to them by signaling with their hands and dipping their wings. The 727 crew's response was interpreted as a denial of that request. The 727 adopting a westward course was interpreted by the Israeli pilots as an attempt to flee. The Israeli Phantom pilots fired bursts from their 20 mm M61 cannons, severely damaging the airliner's control surfaces, hydraulic systems, and wing structure. Flight 114 attempted an emergency landing in an area covered with sand dunes, but crashed, with an explosion near the right main landing gear. Four passengers and the copilot survived while 108 other occupants were killed. The copilot later said that the flight crew knew the Israeli jets wanted them to land but relations between Israel and Libya made them decide against following instructions. In direct contradiction to the co-pilot's own account, the Libyan government stated that the attack occurred without warning. Israel's air force perceived Flight 114 as a security threat, and that among the possible tasks it could have been undertaking was an aerial spy mission over the Israeli air base at Bir Gifgafa. The Israeli government also revealed that LN114 was shot down with the personal authorization of David Elazar, the Israeli Chief of Staff. Israel's argument was that the heightened security situation and the erratic behaviour of the jet's crew made the actions taken prudent. The United Nations did not take any action against Israel. The 30 member nations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) voted to censure Israel for the attack. The United States did not accept the reasoning given by Israel, and condemned the incident. Israel's Defense Minister, Moshe Dayan, called it an "error of judgment", and Israel paid compensation to the victims' families.

While approaching Nicosia Airport by night on a flight from Cairo, the crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when, at an altitude of 2,600 feet, the four engine airplane struck the slope of Mt Kyrenia located 16 km from runway 14 threshold. The wreckage was found 117 meters below the summit and all 37 occupants have been killed.

The crew (three pilots and three technicians) departed Cairo-Intl Airport at 1434LT on a training flight. En route, the airplane went out off control and crashed along the A1C Highway located near Beni Suef, about 125 km south of Cairo. The aircraft was destroyed and all six occupants were killed.

The crew (one instructeur, a captain and a copilot under supervision) was engaged in a local training flight at Cairo-Intl Airport. Following five successful touch-and-goes, the crew initiated a sixth manoeuvre during which the pilot under training was supposed to perform a complete stop on the runway then to increase power and initiate a take off with one engine inoperative. After liftoff, while climbing to a height of some 50 meters, the airplane banked right to an angle of 90° then crashed by the runway shoulder. The airplane was destroyed and all three crew members were killed.

Shortly after takeoff from Alexandria Airport, the crew informed ATC about the explosion of the left engine and requested the permission to divert to Cairo-Intl Airport for an emergency landing. Due to severe damages caused by the explosion, the crew was unable to lower the gear nor the flaps. Eventually, the captain decided to belly landed in a sandy area located near the runway 05. The airplane slid for dozen yards, came to rest and was damaged beyond repair while all 15 occupants escaped uninjured.

Following a normal takeoff roll, the captain pull the control column and started the rotation. During initial climb, at a height of 30 feet, severe vibrations were encountered. The captain decided to land back onto the runway but the available distance was insufficient. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the airplane overran, lost its undercarriage and came to rest in flames in an open field. Fire was quickly extinguished and all 23 occupants were evacuated safely. Nevertheless, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

While in cruising altitude, the twin engine airplane was shot down and crashed in an uninhabited area located about 3 km south from Suez. The aircraft was destroyed and all three occupants were killed. It was reported that the aircraft was overflying a prohibited area when it was shot down. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was not equipped with a VOR receiver and the crew informed ATC about the fact he was unable to receive the information transmitted by the Cairo NDB.

While in cruising altitude over the Mediterranean Sea on a flight from Cairo to Damascus, the aircraft went out of control and crashed in unknown circumstances into the sea. SAR operations were conducted and several debris were found about 180 km south of the Cyprus coast. None of 40 occupants was found alive and the main wreckage was not recovered.

Flight 322 was a scheduled domestic flight from Cairo to Aswan and return with an intermediate stop at Luxor. It departed Cairo at 0700 hours GMT and the sectors Cairo - Luxor, Luxor - Aswan and Aswan - Luxor were uneventful. At 1128 hours the aircraft was ready for the last sector Luxor - Cairo and at 1130 hours it entered the second taxiway to Runway 20 at Luxor and shortly thereafter it was cleared for take-off. Instead of back-tracking on Runway 20 the pilot took off directly from the point he entered the runway, approximately 400 m from its threshold. During the take-off run the pilot-in-command and the co-pilot saw a camel entering the runway from east to west approximately 700 m in front of them. The speed of the aircraft at that time was about 160 km/h. In an attempt to avoid a collision with the camel, the pilot-in-command deviated the aircraft slightly to the right and took off as soon as he could; however, the right wheel struck the camel while the aircraft was about 2 m above the ground. The right landing gear bracing was broken by the impact and although several attempts to retract the undercarriage were made the right gear could not be retracted whilst the left and nose gears were locked in the "up" position. The pilot-in-command decided to complete the flight and to carry out a wheels-up landing at Cairo Airport where more ground facilities were available. He landed the aircraft wheels up at 1402 hours on a sand strip to the right of Runway 34 at Cairo Airport. There were no injuries among the 43 occupants while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.