Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 871
Encyclopedia
On 19 January 1960 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 871 was a Sud Aviation Caravelle
on a scheduled flight from Copenhagen
in Denmark
to the Egypt
ian capital Cairo
, operating a leg between Atatürk International Airport
and Esenboğa International Airport
in Turkey
. The flight was on approach but crashed six nautical mile
s from the airport, killing all 42 passengers and crew on board. This was the first fatal crash of a Caravelle.
'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. 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 FL
135 (approximately 13,500 feet) to FL120. At 18:45 the crew reported inbound at an altitude of 6500 feet still in a descent. At 18:47 the aircraft struck the ground at an elevation of 3500 feet, between the Ankara range
and the airport. The accident killed all 42 passengers and crew on board.
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...
on a scheduled flight from 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...
to the Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian capital Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, operating a leg between Atatürk International Airport
Atatürk International Airport
Atatürk International Airport is the major international airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Opened in 1924 and located in Yeşilköy, on the European side of the city, it is west of the city centre. In 1980, the airport was renamed to Atatürk International Airport in honor of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the...
and Esenboğa International Airport
Esenboga International Airport
Esenboğa International Airport , is an airport located northeast of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It has been operating since 1955. The name of the airport comes from the village of Esenboğa , which literally means "flying bull"....
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The flight was on approach but crashed six nautical mile
Nautical mile
The nautical mile is a unit of length that is about one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian, but is approximately one minute of arc of longitude only at the equator...
s from the airport, killing all 42 passengers and crew on board. This was the first fatal crash of a Caravelle.
Accident
Flight 871 departed IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
'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. 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 FL
Flight level
A Flight Level is a standard nominal altitude of an aircraft, in hundreds of feet. This altitude is calculated from the International standard pressure datum of 1013.25 hPa , the average sea-level pressure, and therefore is not necessarily the same as the aircraft's true altitude either...
135 (approximately 13,500 feet) to FL120. At 18:45 the crew reported inbound at an altitude of 6500 feet still in a descent. At 18:47 the aircraft struck the ground at an elevation of 3500 feet, between the Ankara range
Low Frequency radio range
The low-frequency radio range , also known as the four-course radio range, LF/MF four-course radio range, A-N radio range, Adcock radio range, or commonly "the range", was the main navigation system used by aircraft for instrument flying in the 1930s and 1940s, until the advent of the VHF...
and the airport. The accident killed all 42 passengers and crew on board.