Desert

The crew was performing a survey flight when the twin engine airplane was shot down by rebels of the Front Polisario. The wreckage was found 72 km north of Bir Moghreïn, north Mauritania (exact position 25°52'13.5" N 11°27'25.5" W). The aircraft was destroyed and all three crew members were killed.
Crew:
Lt Sidi Mohamed Ould Heyine, pilot,
Sgt Ely Ould Nafaa, navigator,
Sgt Mohamed Elhafedh Ould Zegrar Ould Khyar, mechanic.
Source: Mohamed Ould Heyine, Mauritania.
First photo: Defender at Atar Airport few weeks prior to the accident.

Crashed in unknown circumstances.

En route to Pontiac, Michigan, the pilot encountered technical problems with the engines that stopped almost simultaneously. He completed a intentional wheels-up landing in a desert area located in Shafter and the twin engine airplane came to rest after sliding for few dozen yards. While the airplane was damaged beyond repair, both occupants escaped uninjured.

The aircraft was on its way from Beirut to Dubai, cruising at an altitude of 37,000 feet by night when it disappeared from radar screens at 0530LT. The crew was unable to send any distress call. The wreckage was later found about 37 km northwest of Al Qaysumah, in the Saudi desert. Debris scattered on a wide area and none of the 82 occupants survived the crash.

While approaching Damascus International Airport by night and excellent weather conditions, the crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the airplane struck the ground at an altitude of 605 meters AMSL and crashed in flames in a desert area located about 18 km from the airport. Rescue teams arrived on scene about 30 minutes later and two passengers, two Syrian citizens, were rescued. All 126 other occupants were killed, among them 67 Czechs, 55 Syrians, 3 Polish and one East-German. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were ideal with good visibility despite the night and a wind from 230° at 10 knots.

The pilot, sole on board, was completing a drug smuggling light and the aircraft was carrying a load of marijuana. Following a complete failure of both engines, the pilot attempted an emergency landing in a desert area when the airplane crash landed in a dry lake bed and hit a ditch. The aircraft was abandoned and the pilot was not found.

En route from Las Vegas to El Paso, while in cruising altitude, both engines lost power. The crew elected to make an emergency landing when control was lost. The airplane crashed in flames near Wikieup and was destroyed. All three occupants were killed.

Crashed in unknown circumstances. Crew fate remains unknown.

The airplane was engaged in a monthly schedule flight from Bamako to Saudi Arabia. En route from Bamako to Kano, ATC informed the crew about the deterioration of the weather conditions and instructed the pilots to divert to Niamey. In marginal weather conditions, the crew apparently lost his orientation and probably following a navigational error, the airplane flew to the west when the crew realized he was flying over the region of Ouagadougou, about 400 km southwest of Niamey. Shortly later, as he was short of fuel, the crew was forced to attempt an emergency landing when the airplane crashed in an open field located in Linoghin, about 40 km east of Ouagadougou. Two crew members and 11 passengers were injured while 47 other occupants were killed.

Shortly after takeoff from Shyganak, one of the passenger entered the cockpit and sat down with both pilots. After the door was closed, the airplane started unusual manoeuvres. At a height of 150 meters, the crew changed heading to 270° when three minutes after departure, the airplane crashed in a desert area located 2 km west of the village. Four passengers were seriously injured while six other occupants including both pilots were killed. Few hours later, three of the four survivors died from their injuries.