Crash of a De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide in Mokhotlong

Date & Time: Jun 24, 1955
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide
Operator:
Registration:
ZS-DDX
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
MSN:
6411
YOM:
1938
Location:
Mokhotlong
All Lesotho
Country:
Lesotho
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
4
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crashed on landing at Mokhotlong Airport for unknown reason. There were no casualties.

Crash of a Noorduyn Norseman IV in Leribe

Date & Time: Jun 13, 1955
Type of aircraft:
Noorduyn Norseman
Operator:
Maluti Air Services
Registration:
ZS-DMB
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
MSN:
733
YOM:
1944
Location:
Leribe
All Lesotho
Country:
Lesotho
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Crash landed for unknown reason. There were no casualties.

Crash of a Douglas C-54A-5-DC Skymaster in Fort Lamy: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jun 3, 1955
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-54 Skymaster
Operator:
Registration:
F-BFVT
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
No
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Douala – Fort Lamy
MSN:
10292
YOM:
1944
Location:
N'Djamena
N'Djamena Capital City
Country:
Chad
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
On landing at Fort Lamy Airport, the four engine aircraft went out of control, veered off runway and came to rest upside down in flames. All three crew members were killed.

Crash of a Vickers 607 Valetta C.1 at Fāyid AFB

Date & Time: May 23, 1955
Type of aircraft:
Vickers Valetta
Operator:
Registration:
VW834
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
MSN:
395
YOM:
1949
Location:
Fāyid AFB
Ismailia
Country:
Egypt
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
0
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On approach to Fāyid AFB, the undercarriage were lowered but not locked. On touchdown, one of the main gear collapsed. The airplane slid for several yards before coming to rest and was damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties.
Probable cause:
Undercarriage failure.

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-40-DK on Mt Kilimanjaro: 20 killed

Date & Time: May 18, 1955 at 1201 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
VP-KKH
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Durban – Dar es-Salaam – Nairobi
MSN:
16820/33568
YOM:
1945
Flight number:
EC104
Location:
Mt Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro Region
Country:
Tanzania
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
16
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
20
Captain / Total flying hours:
4539
Copilot / Total flying hours:
1695
Aircraft flight hours:
7199
Circumstances:
While cruising at the altitude of 10,500 feet in marginal weather conditions, enroute from Dar es-Salaam to Nairobi, the airplane struck the southeast slope of Mawenzi Peak (the second highest peak of Mt KIlimanjaro). The wreckage was reached by rescuers on May 22. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 20 occupants have been killed. At the time of the accident, the mountain was shrouded by clouds and the visibility was poor.
Probable cause:
The pilot's decision to proceed on the direct track to Nairobi, and this consideration is not affected even if he intended to divert in the vicinity of Kilimanjaro. The meteorological conditions were marginal and his first mistake occurred in not discussing the weather with the meteorological forecaster. Had he done so he might well have decided to proceed via Tanga, although in making this decision he might have been influenced by the fact that there were no specific instructions regarding an alternate route. It must be remembered, however, that he was fairly new in the Corporation and he might have thought it impolite to depart from normal practice.
Final Report:

Crash of a De Havilland DH.114 Heron 1B on Mt Koupé: 12 killed

Date & Time: Apr 18, 1955
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.114 Heron
Operator:
Registration:
F-BGOI
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Yaoundé – Douala
MSN:
14010
YOM:
1953
Location:
Mt Koupé
Southwest
Country:
Cameroon
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
9
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
12
Circumstances:
The four engine aircraft left Yaoundé at 1658LT four a short flight to Douala, ETA 1730LT. While cruising in marginal weather conditions, the aircraft hit the slope of Mt Koupé (2,064 meters high) located about 80 km north of Douala. As the airplane failed to arrive, SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the 12 occupants was found. On 19 February 1956, walkers found the wreckage in a dense wooded area on Mt Koupé.
Probable cause:
The accident seems to be the consequence of a controlled flight into terrain. Nevertheless, investigations were unable to determine the exact cause of the accident and the reason why the flight was off course to the north as the aircraft crashed 80 km north of Douala on a flight from the east.

Crash of a Vickers 616 Viking AB in Salisbury

Date & Time: Mar 17, 1955 at 1427 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers Viking
Operator:
Registration:
VP-YEX
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Johannesburg – Salisbury
MSN:
159
YOM:
1946
Flight number:
CAA120
Location:
Harare
Harare Province
Country:
Zimbabwe
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
23
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The aircraft departed Jan Smuts Airport at 1115LT on a scheduled flight to Belvedere Airport, Salisbury, under VFR conditions, carrying 23 passengers and a crew of 5. At 1427LT, while approaching runway 27 from the east on final approach during a thunderstorm, the undercarriage struck the ground a short distance to the north and east of the threshold of runway 27, causing the starboard tire to burst, the starboard leg of the undercarriage to break and the starboard propeller engine to be severely damaged. The pilot endeavored to undertake overshoot procedure but as the starboard engine and propeller could not deliver power and the aircraft was at a speed below the minimum required for effective control, he was obliged to make a crash landing. No one was injured but the aircraft was extensively damaged.
Probable cause:
The accident was caused not by mechanical defect of the aircraft nor by the conduct of the pilot but by a combination of unusual and unexpected circumstances . Had the sudden downpour of rain not taken place at the critical moment, it is almost certain that no accident would have occurred.
Final Report:

Crash of a Douglas C-53D-DO in Nairobi

Date & Time: Mar 15, 1955
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
MM61769
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Location:
Nairobi-Eastleigh (Moi Air Base)
Nairobi City District
Country:
Kenya
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
16
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Few minutes after takeoff from Nairobi-Eastleigh Airport, the crew encountered technical problems with the left engine that lost power. The captain decided to return for a safe landing but on approach, realized he could not make it. So he attempted an emergency landing when the airplane hit a tree and crashed in flames three km from the airfield. While all occupants escaped uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
Loss of power on left engine after takeoff.

Crash of a Douglas C-47B-15-DK in Salisbury: 1 killed

Date & Time: Feb 23, 1955 at 0920 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
VP-YKO
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Airport (less than 10 km from airport)
Schedule:
Salisbury – Lusaka
MSN:
15109/26554
YOM:
1944
Flight number:
CAA626
Location:
Harare
Harare Province
Country:
Zimbabwe
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
21
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
Just after liftoff from runway 09, while in initial climb, the crew raised the gear when smoke spread into the cockpit. The captain decided to land immediately. The aircraft belly landed and skidded for dozen yards before it overran and came to rest on a railway. Twenty-five occupants evacuated safely while the flight engineer was killed by a propeller blade coming from the left engine that penetrated the cockpit.
Probable cause:
The cause of the accident was the presence of smoke in the flight crew compartment in sufficient quantity to make the captain apprehensive of fire and to cause him to land the aircraft immediately with the undercarriage retracted. The only defect revealed by subsequent investigation of the airframe, engine and accessories, was a fractured rubber hose on the port engine connecting the rocker box of one of the lower cylinders to the collector box. It is the option of the Investigating Officers that oil leaking from this fracture was carried by the airflow on to the exhaust collector ring and generated smoke. Tests carried out later on the same type of aircraft proved conclusively that smoke generated in this region will travel freely to the flight crew compartment via the wheel bay and interior of the centre section leading edge.

Crash of an Avro 694 Lincoln B.2 in Githunguri: 10 killed

Date & Time: Feb 19, 1955
Type of aircraft:
Avro 694 Lincoln
Operator:
Registration:
SX984
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
City
Schedule:
Nairobi - Nairobi
Location:
Githunguri
Central
Country:
Kenya
Region:
Africa
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
10
Circumstances:
On 19th February 1955, during what the then colonial government referred to as the "Emergency" enacted to combat the Mau Mau uprising, an RAF Lincoln bomber belonging to No. 49 Squadron based at Eastleigh aerodrome, crashed near the town of Githunguri some fifteen kilometers (eight miles) north-north-west of Kiambu. The bomber, serial number SX984, carrying six aircrew, was returning from a bombing and strafing mission over the Kipipiri Forest when the pilot, Flying Officer Alan Hunt, decided to carry out unauthorized low passes over the Police Officers' Mess where he knew a number of his RAF colleagues were spending the afternoon. The Mess was and is situated near the top of a hill overlooking the town with the police station itself lying half way down towards the main Uplands - Ruiru road. On the third pass, Hunt misjudged the height needed to clear the top of the hill with the result that parts of the starboard wing, tail plane and lower rudder were torn off after hitting three rondavel huts and a mess chimney, whereupon the aircraft went out of control, climbed steeply for about one hundred meters, then stalled before going into a near vertical dive and crashing half a kilometer south of the police station. Hunt and four other crew members died instantly in the resulting inferno, but the tail-gunner, Sergeant Stanley Bartlett was thrown clear and taken to Kiambu hospital and then to the Military hospital in Nairobi where he died five hours later as a result of burns and other serious injuries. Four civilians on the ground, one of them a child, also died. The six crew were buried with full military honors in City Park Cemetery.
Crew (49th Squadron):
F/O Hunt, pilot,
Sgt North, flight engineer,
Sgt Hollands, signaler,
Sgt Bartlett, air gunner,
F/O King, navigator,
F/O Parry, navigator.
Source:
Richard Bartlett-May, son of Sgt Stanley Bartlett.
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