Elbe Island | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The pilot encountered an unexpected situation and decided to ditch the airplane off Elbe Island. All three occupants were evacuated safely while the airplane sank and was lost.

Crash of a Vickers 739B Viscount off Elba Island: 23 killed

Date & Time: Sep 29, 1960 at 1215 LT

Type of aircraft:

Vickers Viscount

Operator:

Registration:

SU-AKW

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Geneva – Rome – Athens – Cairo

MSN:

427

YOM:

Flight number:

MS738

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

1230

Aircraft flight cycles:

535

Circumstances:

The four engine aircraft departed Geneva-Cointrin Airport at 1105LT bound for Rome-Fiumicino Airport. While cruising on airway A3 at an altitude of 21,000 feet, the crew requested permission to ATC to modify his route due to the presence of a low pressure area. Permission was granted and the crew modified his route when contact was lost. The airplane entered a dive and crashed into the Ligurian Sea, about 27 km north of Elbe Island. SAR operations were conducted but no trace of the airplane nor the 23 occupants was found. On October 3, tourists on their sailing ship found a wheel floating on water and the Italian Authorities confirmed it was part of the Egyptian airplane. Unfortunately, only few pieces were recovered.

Probable cause:

Due to lack of evidences, the exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. However, it is believed that the loss of control was the result of severe turbulences encountered in a thunderstorm area which caused the failure of certain components of the aircraft and a eventual structural failure.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 off Elbe Island: 35 killed

Date & Time: Jan 10, 1954 at 1105 LT

Type of aircraft:

De Havilland DH.106 Comet

Operator:

Registration:

G-ALYP

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Singapore – Beirut – Rome – London

MSN:

6003

YOM:

1951

Flight number:

BA781

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

6566

Captain / Total hours on type:

291.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

4915

Copilot / Total hours on type:

262

Aircraft flight hours:

3681

Circumstances:

About twenty minutes after its takeoff from Rome-Ciampino Airport, while cruising at an altitude of 27,000 feet between the islands of Elbe and Montecristo, the airplane suffered a brutal decompression, disappeared from radar screens and crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Some debris were found floating about 16 km south of Elbe Island and the main wreckage sank by a depth of 600 meters. All 35 occupants were killed. About 70% of the debris were recovered and the airplane was rebuilt in UK for investigations. As there were suspicions of technical issues, BOAC, Air France and SAA decided to suspend all Comet flights. After fifty modifications and improvements, the airplane started to fly again two months later. It was eventually discovered that the airplane suffered a structural failure and exploded in flight.

Probable cause:

It was the opinion of the Board that the accident was caused by structural failure of the pressure cabin, brought about by fatigue. Investigators reach this opinion for the following reasons:
- The low fatigue resistance of the cabin has been demonstrated by the test described in Part 3, and the test result is interpretable as meaning that there was, at the age of the Elba aeroplanes a definite risk of fatigue failure occurring,
- The cabin was the first part of the aeroplane to fail in the Elba accident,
- The wreckage indicates that the failure in the cabin was of the same basic type as that produced in the fatigue test,
- This explanation seems to us to be consistent with all the circumstantial evidence,
- The only other defects found in the aeroplane were not concerned at Elba, as demonstrated by the wreckage.

Final Report:

Crash of a Lockheed 18-08 LodeStar off Elbe Island: 8 killed

Date & Time: Oct 29, 1948

Type of aircraft:

Lockheed 18 LodeStar

Operator:

R.A. Brand & Company

Registration:

G-AKPD

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Executive/Corporate/Business

Survivors:

Site:

Lake, Sea, Ocean, River

Schedule:

Croydon – Rome

MSN:

1429

YOM:

1948

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

En route from Croydon to Rome, the aircraft disappeared into the Tyrrhenian Sea and the crew was unable to send any distress call. As the aircraft failed to arrive, SAR operations were conducted. After few hours, Italian Authorities sent an official request to France and Switzerland to ask if the aircraft may have crash on their territory but no trace of the aircraft was found. All operations were suspended after few days. On November 13, 1948, few debris were found floating on the sea few km off Elbe Island. No trace of the eight occupants was found.

Probable cause:

Due to lack of evidence, it was not possible to determine the exact cause of the accident.