Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 871

On 19 January 1960 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 871 was a Sud Aviation Caravelle on a scheduled flight from Copenhagen in Denmark to the Egyptian capital Cairo,^[1] operating a leg between Atatürk International Airport and Esenboğa International Airport in Turkey. The flight was on approach but crashed six nautical miles from the airport, killing all 42 passengers and crew on board. This was the first fatal crash of a Caravelle.^[1]

Accident

Flight 871 departed Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport on a passenger flight to Esenboğa International Airport in Turkey. The aircraft had already stopped at Düsseldorf in Germany and Vienna in Austria before arriving at Istanbul, where a fresh crew boarded the aircraft to operate the remaining portion of the flight.^[1] There were 35 passengers and seven crew on board the aircraft. The flight was uneventful until the crew started the approach to the airport. At 18:41 the crew reported to air traffic control that the aircraft was in a descent from FL135 (approximately 13,500 feet/4,115 m) to FL120 (approximateklt 12,000 feet/3,658 m). At 18:45 the crew reported inbound at an altitude of 6500 feet (1,981 m) still in a descent. At 18:47 the aircraft struck the ground at an elevation of 3500 feet (1,067 m), between the Ankara range and the airport. The accident killed all 42 passengers and crew on board.

Cause

"The accident occurred because of an unintentional descent below the authorized minimum flight altitude during final approach to Esenboga Airport. The reason for this descent could not be ascertained due to lack of conclusive evidence."

References

• aviation-safety.net accident synopsis
• planecrashinfo.com accident synopsis