Africa

Suffered an accident somewhere in Gabon in June 1973, exact date unknown

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

On approach to Mueda Airport, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions with low clouds and limited visibility. The pilot-in-command descended too low on final when the airplane struck the ground and crashed short of runway 16 threshold. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 11 occupants were killed, among them two civilians and two officers.

While taking off from Djibouti City Airport, the twin engine airplane stalled and crashed near the runway end. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots were seriously injured. They were completing a cargo flight on behalf of Wolfair.

En route from Luanda to Henrique de Carvalho, the aircraft was hit by ground fire. The crew elected to make an emergency landing in Cuito Cuanavale. While all occupants escaped uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Flight 114 was an international scheduled service from Tripoli to Bahrain with intermediate stops in Benghazi and Cairo. On board were 104 passengers and a crew of nine, five from Air France, among them the captain, Mr. Jacques Bourgès, aged 42. Normally, the Benghazi – Cairo route was flown eastwards along the Libyan coast until reaching the city of Sidi Barrani in Egypt, where the airway turned inland to the VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) and Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) area located west of Lake Qarun. The entry to the Cairo terminal area was made on a north-easterly heading over a 71-nautical-mile (131 km) long path that separated Lake Qarun from the Cairo VOR. At 13:45 the Cairo traffic control (CTC) saw the aircraft approaching from the west. Permission was granted to land in runway 23. CTC surprisingly saw the Boeing heading eastward towards the Suez Canal at 13:50. Evidence from both the recovered Boeing 727 voice recorders and the Israeli authorities' flight data recorder later showed that the Libyan aircraft was likely to had been already off course when it reported its position over Qarun, probably due to strong westerly upper-level winds associated to a low level sandstorm. The crew was forced to rely on instrument navigation because of this sandstorm. Both instrument and navigational error caused the aircraft to go off course, entering airspace dominated by Israel when flying over the Sinai Peninsula. By this time the aircraft had been lost from the Egyptian air traffic control. The crew believed they were close to the destination airport and started the descent. At 13:55 the aircraft was detected in the radar by the Israelis as it was entering Israeli airspace; it was located south-east of Suez at an altitude of 15,000 feet (4,600 m). Two Israeli Air Force Phantoms were sent to intercept the then unidentified aircraft. Following the re-establishment of communications with CTC the pilot of the Libyan aircraft looked through the cabin's port window and saw the fighters, but he mistook them for Egyptian MiGs. The Libyan aircraft continued flying deeper into the Sinai at a speed of 325 miles per hour (523 km/h), but it suddenly veered to the west. It was at that time that the Boeing's crew realised they were having problems with their instruments. The Israeli fighter pilots attempted to make visual contact with the passenger airliner's crew, and tried to communicate to them by signaling with their hands and dipping their wings. The 727 crew's response was interpreted as a denial of that request. The 727 adopting a westward course was interpreted by the Israeli pilots as an attempt to flee. The Israeli Phantom pilots fired bursts from their 20 mm M61 cannons, severely damaging the airliner's control surfaces, hydraulic systems, and wing structure. Flight 114 attempted an emergency landing in an area covered with sand dunes, but crashed, with an explosion near the right main landing gear. Four passengers and the copilot survived while 108 other occupants were killed. The copilot later said that the flight crew knew the Israeli jets wanted them to land but relations between Israel and Libya made them decide against following instructions. In direct contradiction to the co-pilot's own account, the Libyan government stated that the attack occurred without warning. Israel's air force perceived Flight 114 as a security threat, and that among the possible tasks it could have been undertaking was an aerial spy mission over the Israeli air base at Bir Gifgafa. The Israeli government also revealed that LN114 was shot down with the personal authorization of David Elazar, the Israeli Chief of Staff. Israel's argument was that the heightened security situation and the erratic behaviour of the jet's crew made the actions taken prudent. The United Nations did not take any action against Israel. The 30 member nations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) voted to censure Israel for the attack. The United States did not accept the reasoning given by Israel, and condemned the incident. Israel's Defense Minister, Moshe Dayan, called it an "error of judgment", and Israel paid compensation to the victims' families.

Crashed in unknown circumstances. There were no casualties. The exact type of Aero Commander remains unknown as well.

The aircraft was completing a charter flight from Jeddah to Lagos on behalf of Nigeria Airways, carrying Nigerian pilgrims flying back home. En route, the crew was informed about bad weather in Lagos and was rerouted to Kano-Mallam Aminu Kano Airport. On final approach, the pilot-in-command encountered mist when during the last segment, control was lost. The airplane nosed down and struck the runway surface with its nose gear first. On impact, the nose gear collapsed then both main gears touched the ground and punctured the fuel tanks. Out of control, the airplane skidded on runway, lost its both left engines then made a 180 turn before coming to rest in flames. Three crew members and 23 passengers were rescued while 176 other occupants were killed. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire. Up to date, this was the worst plane crash in History.

Crashed in unknown circumstances near Watsa. Crew fate remains unknown as well. The accident occurred somewhere in 1972, exact date unknown.

En route from Russia to Egypt, the four engine airplane struck the slope of a mountain somewhere in Egypt, killing all seven crew members. The accident occurred somewhere in 1972 as the exact date remains unknown.