Kuwait City | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

While cruising off the Kuwait coast, the twin engine aircraft went out of control and crashed into the sea few km off shore. All six occupants were killed and only few debris were found.
Crew:
G/C H. J. Irens, pilot,
Sgt Radley, signaler.
Passengers:
G/C. A. M. Aberdein,
W/C M. Dean,
S/L R. H. Stevenson,
F/L Cranley.

Probable cause:

Due to lack of evidence, the cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty.

Crash of a Fiat G.212 in Kuwait City

Date & Time: Jul 29, 1954 at 0448 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fiat G.212

Operator:

Arabian Desert Airlines

Registration:

G-ANOE

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Beirut - Kuwait City

MSN:

YOM:

1948

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

During the final approach completed by night, the pilot did not realize his altitude was insufficient when the three engine airplane hit a sand dune located few dozen yards short of runway. On impact, the undercarriage were torn off and the aircraft crash landed on its belly and came to rest. While all three crew members were unhurt, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc in Beirut

Date & Time: Jan 6, 1954 at 0352 LT

Type of aircraft:

SNCASE SE.161 Languedoc

Operator:

Registration:

OD-ABU

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Beirut – Kuwait City

MSN:

YOM:

1945

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

During the takeoff roll on runway 18, at a speed of 90 knots, the pilot-in-command encountered control difficulties while the aircraft veered to the left side of the runway. He took a corrective action but the airplane started to swerve. In such conditions, he decided to abandon the takeoff run and started an emergency braking procedure, closed the throttle and applied brakes simultaneously. The aircraft then veered off runway to the left at a speed around 50 to 60 knots and while contacting soft ground, lost its left main gear while both left engines struck the ground and came to rest in flames. All nine occupants evacuated safely while the aircraft was destroyed by fire.

Probable cause:

The accident was due to a loss of power followed by a sudden picking up of no. 1 engine, added to the inherent tendency of the aircraft to veer to the left. The flight engineer noticed this loss of power but did not warn the pilot before checking the instruments at his own station. Having noticed that his instruments read normally, and finding, on turning back to the pilot's panel, that the engine had picked up, he did not consider it necessary to report the loss of power to the pilot-in-command. The pilot-in-command must have presumed the swerving of the aircraft to be normal and have corrected the motion of the aircraft on that basis. Owing to the complexity of the flight engineer's duties on take-off and to the fact that he had to stand, thus being subject to inertia and centrifugal forces, he was hampered and delayed in his motions. The aircraft was destroyed as a result of the fact that, in running over sandy ground its left wheel sank into a soft spot causing the left attachment fitting of the left landing gear to break. In collapsing, the landing-gear caused no. 1 and, no. 2 engines to come into contact with the ground. The fuel cocks and the cut-off valves were not closed. Fire broke out on the left wing, and destroyed the aircraft.

Final Report: