Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 202
Encyclopedia
Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 202, a Douglas DC-4
, registration YA-BAG, was an international scheduled flight from Lebanon
, bound for Afghanistan
with scheduled stops in Mehrabad Airport, Iran
, and Kandahar International Airport, Afghanistan
. On November 21, 1959, two minutes after takeoff on runway 18, the aircraft crashed into the side of a hill at hills of Aramoun
near Beirut
. A small cabin fire erupted shortly after the crash, killing 24 of the 27 passengers on board. The 3 surviving passengers were taken to hospital
in Beirut
.
, the flight was delayed for 20 hours due to technical difficulties. Two causes were proposed:
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
, registration YA-BAG, was an international scheduled flight from Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, bound for Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
with scheduled stops in Mehrabad Airport, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, and Kandahar International Airport, Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. On November 21, 1959, two minutes after takeoff on runway 18, the aircraft crashed into the side of a hill at hills of Aramoun
Aramoun
Aramoun is a village in Aley District in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of Lebanon....
near Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. A small cabin fire erupted shortly after the crash, killing 24 of the 27 passengers on board. The 3 surviving passengers were taken to hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
.
Cause
The investigation found that the day before November 20, 1959, after a flight from FrankfurtFrankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, the flight was delayed for 20 hours due to technical difficulties. Two causes were proposed:
- A navigational error in that the pilot did not right turn out as early as he should have, either because he forgot or because he was distracted by an unusual occurrence.
- A fire indication (or possibly a fire) in No. 1 engine which induced the pilot to start fire emergency action with a resulting reduction in the rate of turn and the rate of climb.