Date & Time:
Jul 1, 1948 at 1220 LT
Type of aircraft:
Fiat G.212
Operator:
Registration:
I-ELSA
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Milan – Brussels
MSN:
04
YOM:
1948
Country:
Belgium
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
4
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
4
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
8
Aircraft flight hours:
19
Circumstances:
On approach to Brussels-Zaventem Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain falls, low visibility and a ceiling at 100 meters. In such conditions, the captain overshot the runway in Zaventem and was unable to land. He increased power on all three engines and continued to the northeast. Few minutes later, he decided to land on a makeshift airfield in Keerbergen but during the last turn to the left, the aircraft stalled and crashed in a field. Three passengers and a crew member survived while all eight other occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
Insufficient speed during the last turn to the left caused the aircraft to stall. The distance between the aircraft and the ground was too low to expect a recovery. Poor weather conditions were considered as a contributory factor.
