Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Schedule:

Multan - Faysalabad

MSN:

10331

YOM:

1967

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

12767

Aircraft flight cycles:

16500

Circumstances:

On final approach, the crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the airplane struck tree tops and crashed 800 meters short of runway threshold. All 40 occupants were evacuated while the aircraft was destroyed.

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-50-DL in Svay Rieng: 11 killed

Date & Time: May 19, 1973 at 1500 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Cambodia Air Commercial

Registration:

XW-TDM

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Svay Rieng – Phnom Penh

MSN:

10078

YOM:

1943

Location:

Svay Rieng

Country:

Cambodia

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Shortly after takeoff from Svay Rieng Airport, while in initial climb, the airplane was shot down by a mortar shell and crashed in flames. All 11 occupants have been killed.

Probable cause:

Shot down by ground fire.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-104B near Chita: 81 killed

Date & Time: May 18, 1973 at 0938 LT

Type of aircraft:

Tupolev TU-104

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-42411

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Moscow – Chelyabinsk – Novosibirsk – Irkutsk – Chita

MSN:

8 2 03 03

YOM:

1958

Flight number:

SU109

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

19329

Aircraft flight cycles:

8841

Circumstances:

While in cruising altitude on the leg from Irkutsk to Chita, a hijacker went into the cockpit and ordered the crew to fly to China. Negotiations between the crew and the hijacker were unfruitful and after few minutes, a member of the militia shot the hijacker. Before dying, the hijacker was able to fire a system connected to several grenades attached to his belt. A huge detonation occurred in the cabin, causing the aircraft to disintegrate in the air. From an altitude of 6,500 meters, the airplane entered a dive and crashed in the taiga about 97 km west of Chita. Debris were found on a wide area and none of the 81 occupants survived the crash. Soviet Authorities later reported that the hijacker was a mental imbalance and explained his gesture by their recent refusal to grant him a job position within the diplomatic corps.

Probable cause:

Explosion of a 'bomb' after being hijacked.

Crash of a Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander in Gabon

Date & Time: May 15, 1973

Type of aircraft:

Britten-Norman Islander

Operator:

Registration:

TR-LOC

Flight Type:

Landing (descent or approach)

MSN:

YOM:

1969

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances somewhere in Gabon in May 1973, exact date unknown.

Crash of a Vickers 827 Viscount in Salvador

Date & Time: May 15, 1973

Type of aircraft:

Vickers Viscount

Operator:

Registration:

PP-SRD

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Salvador-Deputado Luis Eduardo Magalhães (ex Dois de Julho)

MSN:

398

YOM:

1958

Location:

Bahia

Country:

Brazil

Region:

South America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The approach to Salvador-Dois de Julho Airport was completed in heavy rain falls. After touchdown on a wet runway, the airplane skidded then veered off runway to the left. While contacting soft ground, the undercarriage collapsed and the airplane came to rest. There were no casualties.

Crash of an Antonov AN-24V in Havana: 3 killed

Date & Time: May 14, 1973 at 1603 LT

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-24

Operator:

Registration:

CU-T876

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Havana-José Martí (Rancho Boyeros)

Schedule:

Nueva Gerona – Havana

MSN:

67302403

YOM:

1966

Flight number:

CU707

Location:

La Habana

Country:

Cuba

Region:

Central America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

On final approach to Havana-José Martí-Rancho Boyeros Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions when the airplane struck the ground and crashed few km short of runway threshold. The aircraft was destroyed, three passengers were killed and 18 other occupants were injured.

Probable cause:

The exact cause of the accident remains unclear but it was reported that the captain made some errors on approach while the copilot failed to use standard phraseology.

Crash of a PZL-Mielec AN-2R near Vologda

Date & Time: May 14, 1973

Type of aircraft:

PZL-Mielec AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-70569

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

MSN:

1G127-37

YOM:

1971

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Crashed in unknown circumstances near Vologda. There were no casualties. It is reported that the total weight of the aircraft was above the MTOW at the time of the accident.

Crash of an Ilyushin II-18B near Semipalatinsk: 63 killed

Date & Time: May 11, 1973 at 0437 LT

Type of aircraft:

Ilyushin II-18

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-75687

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Desert

Schedule:

Baku - Tashkent - Novosibirsk

MSN:

189 0012 02

YOM:

1959

Flight number:

SU6551

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

21663

Aircraft flight cycles:

11787

Circumstances:

While cruising by night at an altitude of 7,800 meters in good weather conditions, the pilot-in-command initiated a turn to the left when control was lost. The airplane entered a dive and spiraled to the ground. At an altitude of 5,000 meters, some elements of the upper wing surface and the stabilisers detached and the airplane disintegrated in the air before crashing in a steppe located about 84 km south of Semipalatinsk. Wings and stabilisers parts were found at a distance of some 3.5 km from the crash site. All 63 occupants have been killed.

Probable cause:

The exact cause of the accident could not be determined. The assumption that the aircraft collided with an object was not ruled out. It is believed the crew may have start an emergency descent but the reason of this manoeuvre could not be established. FDR could not be read properly as it was seriously damaged in the crash.

Crash of an Antonov AN-2 in Kursk

Date & Time: May 11, 1973

Type of aircraft:

Antonov AN-2

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-05915

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors: