Mediterranean Sea

The aircraft departed Paris-Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport at 2321LT on May 18 on an international schedule flight to Cairo. carrying 56 passengers and 10 crew members. The crew maintained radio contacts with the Greek ATC and was transferred to the Egyptian ATC but failed to respond. Two minutes after the airplane left the Greek Airspace, the aircraft descended from FL370 to FL220 in few seconds, apparently making a first turn to the left and then a 360 turn to the right before disappearing from the radar screen at 0229LT while at an altitude of 10'000 feet. It is believed that the aircraft crashed in the Mediterranean sea about 200 km north of Egyptian coast. The crew did not send any mayday message, thereby all assumptions remains open. It appears that some various debris such as luggage were found on May 20 about 290-300 km north of Alexandria. Two days after the accident, it is confirmed that ACARS messages reported smoke on board, apparently in the lavatory and also in a technical compartment located under the cockpit area. Above that, several technical issues were reported by the ACARS system. The CVR has been recovered on June 16, 2016, and the DFDR a day later. As both recorder systems are badly damaged, they will need to be repaired before analyzing any datas. On December 15, 2016, investigators reported that traces of explosives were found on several victims. Egyptian Authorities determined that there had been a malicious act. The formal investigation per ICAO Annex 13 was stopped and further investigation fell within the sole jurisdiction of the judicial authorities. Contradicting the Egyptian finding, the French BEA considered that the most likely hypothesis was that a fire broke out in the cockpit while the aircraft was flying at its cruise altitude and that the fire spread rapidly resulting in the loss of control of the aircraft.

The aircraft departed Palma de Mallorca Airport on a combined flight to Sigonella NAS with a second USN Grumman C-1A Trader registered 136772. While in cruising altitude some 150 miles east of the Balearic Islands, both aircraft collided in unknown circumstances and crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. Some debris were found floating on water but no trace of the seven crew members (four in 136753 and three on board 136772) was found.

The aircraft departed Palma de Mallorca Airport on a combined flight to Sigonella NAS with a second USN Grumman C-1A Trader registered 136772. While in cruising altitude some 150 miles east of the Balearic Islands, both aircraft collided in unknown circumstances and crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. Some debris were found floating on water but no trace of the seven crew members (four in 136753 and three on board 136772) was found.

Radar and radio contacts were lost while the aircraft was flying over the Mediterranean Sea on a flight from Oran to Toulouse. SAR operations were initiated but eventually abandoned six days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the four occupants was found. It is believed that the aircraft crashed into the sea south of Balearic Islands.

The DC-3 aircraft had been decommissioned by Spanish Air Force and stored at Madrid-Cuatro Vientos Airport. It was auctioned in July 1979 and bought by Kurfiss Aviation of Germany to become part of an aviation museum. The aircraft was then repaired by mechanics contracted by the new owner. A provisional, restricted Certificate of Airworthiness was issued to allow the airplane to be ferried to Frankfurt via Perpignan Airport (PGF). On the day of the ferry flight a VHF radio was installed but two-way communication could not be established. The departure was delayed until finally took off at 15:29 hours, without authorization, using a runway which was not rated for the weight of the DC-3 aircraft. There was no communication with the flight due to the radio problems. The aircraft presumably reached the zone of Barcelona in very low visibility conditions, due to both the hazy conditions and the diminishing daylight hours. The airplane did not arrive at Perpignan. A search operation was started but no sign of the plane was found. It is presumed to have crashed in the Mediterranean Sea.

The airplane was completing a flight from Naples to the USS Independence cruising in the Mediterranean Sea. En route, the crew reported technical problems and later, the twin engine aircraft crashed into the sea. Eight people were rescued while both pilots were killed when the airplane sank six minutes after it was ditched.

The airplane departed Algiers Airport late in the evening on a charter flight to Mahón, Balearic Islands, Spain, carrying three crew members and 28 members of the Algerian soccer team Air Liquide (AGAL). While cruising by night at his assigned altitude, the pilot declared an emergency at 2309LT and reported his position 65 nautical miles north of Algiers. Radar and radio contact were lost and the airplane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. SAR operations were jointly conducted by Spanish, Algerian and French authorities but were eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the 31 occupants was found. It was reported that all passengers were players, members of staff and family members of the Air Liquide soccer team who were flying to Mahón to take part to a New Year's soccer tournament.

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.

Message from Penny Black, daughter of the pilot, Captain Guy Marshall Allphin, who was killed in the accident:
My dad did land the plane. The propeller broke off upon landing. The crew put him in a life boat, pulled it over the door that was laying on the ground of the plane and punctured the life boat. My dad called in their coordinates before he had to put the plane down and all were rescued within about 30 minutes. They were flying into a jiblee storm and it used up more fuel and they actually ran out of gas. The plane had the radio from the Lady Be Good in it. The Lady Be Good was found in the Sahara desert in 1959 it went down during WWII, in 1944. They over shot Tripoli and the crew tried to walk out of the desert. I believe they found the remains of all but one of the crew members. Anyhow, they called The Lady Be Good the jinx plane because they took parts from it placed them in other planes and some of those planes went down. As I mentioned above, the C47 that my dad was flying had the radio from the Lady Be Good.
My sincere thanks to Penny Black for her contribution.

The crew was completing a cargo flight from Beirut to London with in an intermediate stop at Ciampino Airport in Rome. While cruising over the Mediterranean Sea, the four engine aircraft went out of control and crashed into the sea. The crew was unable to send any distress call prior to the accident. SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the five crew members was found.