Adrar | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The aircraft took off on a scheduled service from Tripoli to Kano with a crew of eight and ten passengers. The weather forecast indicated fine weather en route and thunderstorms in the Kano area. Due to faulty use of the variation setting control on the Gyrosyn compass and the inability of the crew to determine the aircraft's position properly by the standard methods, the aircraft, with practically no fuel and over the desert, made a wheels-up landing in a wide depression littered with shifting sand-dunes surrounded by rocky escarpments. The port wing was torn off and the remainder of the aircraft slewed left and came to a standstill without breaking up. No fire resulted and all passengers and crew were evacuated without difficulty. Six were slightly injured but the copilot died five days later as a result of exhaustion brought about by strain and heat.

Probable cause:

Causes of the accident, in chronological order, are set out by the report as follows:
- Faulty use by the navigator of the variation setting control on the CL2 Gyrosyn compass,
- Faulty checking of compasses by incorrect astral bearing and without the aid of radio bearings,
- Incorrect inference drawn by the captain in pronouncing the CL2 Gyrosyn compass correct and the P.12 magnetic compass unserviceable,
- Fault on the part of the captain in not returning to Tripoli when the P.12 compass was regarded as unserviceable (in breach of BOAC regulations),
- Inability of the crew to realize that astro shots were being taken on the wrong stars,
- Inability of the crew to determine the aircraft's position properly by the standard methods when the VSC setting error was discovered,
- Lack of decisive action on the part of the captain once he knew he had lost his way,
- Ignorance, on the part of those on board, of the assistance which could have been afforded by Atar airfield.

Final Report:

Crash of a Bristol 170 Freighter 21 in the Tanezrouft Desert: 26 killed

Date & Time: Jul 29, 1950 at 0300 LT

Type of aircraft:

Bristol 170 Freighter

Operator:

Registration:

F-BENF

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Survivors:

Site:

Desert

Schedule:

Paris – Algiers – Aoulef – Bidon V – Gao – Bamako

MSN:

12738

YOM:

1946

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft left Aoulef Airfield at 0245LT bound for Bidon V. During the next 15 to 30 minutes, the crew maintained few radio contacts with the ground and eventually, the contact was lost around 0300LT. SAR operations were conducted and the crew of a GLAM Douglas DC-4 found the wreckage about 30 hours later, around 1815LT some 50 km west of the trail leading from Reggan to Bidon V. The debris were scattered on more than 2 km about 106 km southwest of Aoulef and all 26 occupants have been killed. Most of the passengers were locals from Bamako flying back home for vacations after studying in France. It is believed that an explosion occurred in the left wing in flight, most probably in the fuel tank, causing the left wing to detach. In such conditions, the aircraft was uncontrollable. The exact cause of the detonation remains unknown.
Crew:
Cpt Le Monigou 3.

Probable cause:

The accident was probably caused by an explosion in the wing compartment containing the main starboard fuel tank. This explosion tore off part of the upper wing surface which started a vibration of the wing structure which then caused multiple failures in flight.

Final Report:

Crash of a Farman F.222.2 in Atar

Date & Time: May 22, 1943

Type of aircraft:

Farman F.220/F.224

Operator:

Registration:

L-217

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

MSN:

YOM:

1940

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Suffered a landing accident in Atar. There were no casualties.

Crash of an Avro 616 Avian IVM in the Tanezrouft Desert: 1 killed

Date & Time: Apr 12, 1933

Type of aircraft:

Avro 616 Avian IVM

Operator:

Edward William Lancaster

Registration:

G-ABLK

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Private

Survivors:

Site:

Desert

Schedule:

Reggane – Gao

MSN:

523

YOM:

1931

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The pilot departed London on a solo flight to South Africa with several en route stops. In the evening, he departed Reggane on a leg to Gao, Mali. About an hour into the flight, while cruising at night, the engine failed. The pilot attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed some 275 km south of Reggane, in the Tanezrouft Desert. As the airplane failed to arrive in Gao, SAR operations were initiated but eventually suspended as no trace of the airplane nor the pilot was found. On February 10, 1962, a French military patrol found the wreckage that and the dead body of the pilot that was mummified. In 1975, the wreckage was transferred to the Queensland Museum in Brisbane. It was later determined that the pilot survived the accident but died 8 days later of hunger and thirst.

Probable cause:

Engine failure for unknown reasons.

Crash of a Farman F.190 near Bidon 5

Date & Time: Dec 28, 1931

Type of aircraft:

Farman F.190

Operator:

Registration:

F-AJDD

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Reggane - Gao

MSN:

7133

YOM:

1929

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft was on its way from Reggane, Algeria, to Gao, Mali, with a targui interpret and one pilot (Pierre Obrecht) on board. Few minutes after the stopover in Bidon 5, the pilot encountered control problems and attempted an emergency landing. The aircraft crash landed some 8 km south of Bidon 5 and was damaged beyond repair. Both occupants were rescued three days later, on December 31.

Probable cause:

According to company officials, the aileron control cables, expanded by heat during the stopover in Bidon 5, came out of the pulleys and were blocked afterwards. In such circumstances, the control of the aircraft was impossible.