Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701
Encyclopedia
Ariana Afghan Airlines
Ariana Afghan Airlines
Ariana Afghan Airlines Co. Ltd. is the oldest and the national airline of Afghanistan, and is currently the largest Afghan airline, headquartered in Kabul...

 Flight 701
was an air accident that happened on 5 January 1969, when a Boeing 727
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...

 crashed into a house on approach to London Gatwick Airport
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...

 in heavy fog. Due to pilot error the flaps were not extended to maintain flight at final approach speed. 48 passengers and crew died; 2 people were killed on the ground.

The aircraft

The Boeing 727
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...

 was only 11 months old at the time of the accident. YA-FAR was built on the 22 February 1968 and had over 100 flying hours with flights to Europe and the Middle East.

Cause

The two black boxes were found some hours later. Investigators found the cause of the crash was pilot error by the captain. Failure to divert to London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...

and failure to extend the flaps caused the aircraft to roll to the right, in a nose high attitude, and crash.
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