Sterling Airways Flight 901
On 15 March 1974, Sterling Airways Flight 901, a Sud Aviation Caravelle operated by Sterling Airways, experienced a landing gear failure as it was taxiing for take-off.[1] The right main landing gear collapsed, which caused the right wing to contact the runway, rupturing a fuel tank and igniting the spilt fuel. The fire killed 15 passengers and injured 37 passengers and crew. The aircraft had been chartered by tour company Tjæreborg to take tourists around Asia, and was on the way back to Copenhagen when the accident happened. The accident came only two years after the crash of Sterling Airways Flight 296.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 10B3, manufacturer's serial number 266, registered as OY-STK.[2] The aircraft made its first flight in 4 April 1970 and was delivered to Sterling Airways on 6 May 1970.[3]
Passengers and crew
The aircraft was carrying 96 people of which 92 were passengers, two were pilots and two were cabin crew. The captain was 38-year-old Leif Knud Jørgensen, who had been with Sterling Airways since 1967, a captain since 1970 and had 9,600 flying hours. The co-pilot was Raimo Uski from Finland, who had 6,000 flying hours. The cabin crew consisted of 24-year-old Anne Bräuner and 22-year-old Bente Steffensen, both from Denmark.[4] According to Danish newspaper Politiken, the nationalities of the passengers and crew were the following:[5][6]
Nationality | Passengers | Crew | Total | Fatalities |
---|---|---|---|---|
Denmark | 46 | 3 | 49 | 7 |
Sweden | 36 | - | 36 | 8 |
West Germany | 4 | - | 4 | - |
Norway | 2 | - | 2 | - |
Finland | - | 1 | 1 | - |
France | 1 | - | 1 | - |
Total | 92 | 4 | 96 | 15 |
Accident
The Sud Aviation Caravelle had been chartered by travel agency Tjæreborg to take tourists on a tour around Asia. The tour had started in Copenhagen on 2 March 1974 and had taken the tourists to several cities, among them Shiraz, Bangkok, Hong Kong and New Delhi.[5] The tour, on its 14th day, was making a quick refuelling stop at Tehran, before flying back to Copenhagen. As the aircraft was taxiing to the runway, the right main landing gear suddenly collapsed, causing a fuel tank in the right wing to rupture and spill fuel which then ignited.
Investigation
Soon after news of the accident had reached Copenhagen, the Danish Accident Investigation Board dispatched a team to Tehran, along with technicians from the Danish police and experts in identifying bodies. The AIB team was to assist the Iranian investigation team. Before the investigation began it was suspected that either metal fatigue or loss of hydraulics caused the accident. On the 30 March 1974 the AIB team released a statement stating that the probable cause of the accident was failure of the right main landing gear. As the landing gear was torn off, the fuel tank inside the wing ruptured, causing fuel to spill which then ignited.[7] The accident report attributed the undercarriage collapse to a structural failure of the lower 'candelabra' fitting.[2]
References
- ^ "Branden i Teheran" [The fire in Tehran] (in Swedish). Flykatastrofer. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ a b Ranter, Harro. "Accident description". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
- ^ "Sterling Airways OY-STK – 15. March 1974". SudAviation.com. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Erfaren besætning" [Experienced crew]. Politiken (in Danish). 16 March 1974.
- ^ a b "Sådan endte ferierejsen i en tragedie" [This is how the holiday trip ended in a tragedy]. Politiken (in Danish). 16 March 1974.
- ^ "De omkomne" [The deceased]. Politiken (in Danish). 17 March 1974.
- ^ Hertz, Peter (30 March 1974). "Caravelle-type under mistanke" [Caravelle type under suspicion]. Politiken (in Danish).
- v
- t
- e
- Jask Imperial Airways de Havilland Hercules crash (September 1929)
- KLM Bushehr incident (July 1935)
- Misrair SNCASE Languedoc crash (December 1951)
- Sterling Airways Flight 901 (March 1974)
- Tehran UFO incident (September 1976)
- Iran Air Flight 291 (January 1980)
- Iranian Air Force C-130 crash (September 1981)
- Kuwait Airways Flight 422 (April 1988)
- Iran Air Flight 655 (July 1988)
- Tehran mid-air collision (February 1993)
- Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 746 (October 1994)
- Faraz Qeshm Airlines Yak-40 crash (May 2001)
- Iran Air Tours Flight 956 (February 2002)
- Aeromist-Kharkiv Flight 2137 (December 2002)
- Iran Ilyushin Il-76 crash (February 2003)
- Iranian Air Force C-130 crash (December 2005)
- Iran Air Tours Flight 945 (September 2006)
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- Aria Air Flight 1525 (July 2009)
- Iranian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 accident (September 2009)
- Taban Air Flight 6437 (January 2010)
- Iran Air Flight 277 (January 2011)
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