Sterling Airways Flight 296
Encyclopedia
On 14 March 1972 Sterling Airways Flight 296 crashed near Kalba
Kalba
Kalba is a city in the United Arab Emirates. It is an enclave of the emirate of Sharjah, Kalba is north of Oman and south of the emirate of Fujairah. Khor Kalba , a mangrove swamp, is located further south of the town. The town was captured by the Portuguese Empire in the 16th century and was...

 in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

 on a flight from Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

 to Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

 in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 with a stop over in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

. The Sud Aviation Caravelle
Sud Aviation Caravelle
The Sud Aviation SE 210 Caravelle was the first short/medium-range jet airliner produced by the French Sud Aviation firm starting in 1955 . The Caravelle was one of the more successful European first generation jetliners, selling throughout Europe and even penetrating the United States market, with...

 was registration OY-STL. 112 passengers and crew died in the crash which was attributed to pilot error. It was the deadliest air disaster in the history of the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

.

Accident

Sterling Airways Flight 296 took off from Colombo International Airport in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

 on the 14 March 1972 on a flight to Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport is the main international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark and the Oresund Region. It is located on the island of Amager, south of Copenhagen city centre, and west of Malmö city centre on the other side of the Oresund Bridge. The airport lies mainly in the municipality...

 in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 with a refueling stopover in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

 in the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

. There were 106 passengers and 6 crew onboard the Sud Aviation Caravelle when after a 2 hour flight the aircraft crashed into a mountain ridge near Kalba
Kalba
Kalba is a city in the United Arab Emirates. It is an enclave of the emirate of Sharjah, Kalba is north of Oman and south of the emirate of Fujairah. Khor Kalba , a mangrove swamp, is located further south of the town. The town was captured by the Portuguese Empire in the 16th century and was...

at 1600 feet. All 112 passengers and crew were killed.
Nationality Passengers Crew Total
 Denmark Danish 68 6 74
 Sweden Swedish 20 - 20
 Norway Norwegian 12 - 12
 Finland Finnish 4 - 4
 West Germany West German 2 - 2
Total 106 6 112

Sources:

Cause

The government in the United Arab Emirates launched an investigation in the crash of flight 296. The investigation found that the pilots descended below minimum prescribed altitude, probably because the pilots thought they were closer to Dubai than they actually were, due to incorrect information on the outdated flight plan and/or due to a misreading of the weather radar.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK