Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 202

Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 202 (YA-BAG) was a scheduled international civilian passenger flight from Lebanon to Afghanistan on 21 November 1959. It took off from Beirut and was destined for Kabul, with a stopover at Mehrabad in Iran and another stopover at Kandahar in Afghanistan. Two minutes after takeoff,[1] the aircraft, a Douglas DC-4, crashed into the side of a hill in Aramoun. The impact caused a fire to break out in the cabin, killing 24 of the flight's 27 total occupants on the scene. The three initial survivors were taken to a hospital in Beirut shortly after the crash, and two of them later succumbed to their injuries.

Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 202
Aircraft, similar to the one involved in this incident, photographed while under operation by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in 1954.
Occurrence
Date21 November 1959[1]
SummaryControlled flight into terrain
SiteAramoun, Lebanon[1]
Aircraft
Aircraft typeDouglas DC-4[1]
OperatorAriana Afghan Airlines[1]
RegistrationYA-BAG[1]
Flight originBeirut International Airport, Lebanon
1st stopoverMehrabad International Airport, Iran
2nd stopoverKandahar International Airport, Afghanistan
DestinationKabul International Airport, Afghanistan
Passengers22
Crew5
Fatalities26 (24 initially, 2 in hospital)[1]
Survivors1[1]

Investigation

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An investigation was launched into the cause of the crash; the report found that a day earlier, after arriving from Frankfurt, West Germany, the flight was delayed for 20 hours due to technical difficulties. Two causes were proposed:[1]

  • Navigational error: the pilot did not properly execute a right turn as early as he should have, either because he forgot or was distracted by some unusual occurrence;
  • Fire in the No. 1 engine, which induced the pilot to start emergency actions with a resulting reduction in the rate of turn and climb.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-4 YA-BAG Beirut". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
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