Date & Time:
Mar 5, 1973 at 0140 LT
Type of aircraft:
Sud-Aviation SE-210 Caravelle
Operator:
Registration:
EC-BID
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Positioning
Survivors:
No
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Madrid - Funchal
MSN:
228
YOM:
1969
Country:
Portugal
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
3
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a positioning flight from Madrid-Barajas to Funchal. While approaching the airport by night, the pilot-in-command made a turn to join the runway 06 approach path when the airplane stalled and crashed into the sea few km off shore. The wreckage sank by a depth of 740 meters and was not recovered. All three crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
Due to lack of evidences, it was not possible to determine the exact cause of the accident. Nevertheless, it is believed that the aircraft's speed was probably too low during the last turn, causing the aircraft to stall and to crash. The distance between the aircraft and the water surface was insufficient to expect recovery.
