Cyprus Airways Flight 284 was a

de Havilland Comet The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four d ...

that exploded during a flight to

Nicosia International Airport Nicosia International Airport ( gr, Διεθνές Αεροδρόμιο Λευκωσίας, tr, Lefkoşa Uluslararası Havaalanı) is a largely disused airport located west of the Cypriot capital city of Nicosia in the Lakatamia suburb. It was ...

on 12 October 1967 after a bomb detonated in the cabin. The airliner crashed in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

and all 66 passengers and crew members on board were killed.

Aircraft

The aircraft was a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 4B, registration G-ARCO, the 49th Comet 4 built. It had been owned and operated by British European Airways (BEA) since it was built in 1961.

Flight

BEA was a shareholder in

Cyprus Airways Cyprus Airways (Greek: Κυπριακές Αερογραμμές) is the flag carrier airline of Cyprus, based at Larnaca International Airport. It commenced operations on 1 June 2017. History Cyprus Airways resumed operations in 2016 after win ...

, and the two airlines had an agreement for all of Cyprus Airways' jet services to be operated by BEA Comets. The night before the crash, the aircraft departed from

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the Airports of London, London airport sys ...

Ellinikon International Airport Ellinikon International Airport, sometimes spelled ''Hellinikon'' ( el, Ελληνικόν), was the international airport of Athens, Greece, for 63 years. It was replaced on 28 March 2001 by the new Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios ...

in Athens,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, arriving just after 3:00 a.m. local time (1:00 a.m. UTC) on 12 October. At about 4:30 a.m., the aircraft departed Athens on the regular Cyprus Airways flight to

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

with 59 passengers and a crew of seven on board. About 45 minutes into the flight, control of the aircraft was transferred from air traffic controllers (ATC) at Athens to their counterparts in Nicosia. The crew contacted Nicosia's controllers by radio, but when ATC replied, no response was received from the aircraft. As Flight 284 was flying toward Cyprus at approximately , the aircraft exploded about southeast of the Greek island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

and about south of the Turkish coastal town of

Demre Demre is a town and district in the Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, named after the river Demre. Demre is the Lycian town of Myra, the home of Saint Nicholas of Myra. The district was known as ''Kale'' until it was renamed ...

. The flight was scheduled to proceed to Cairo after stopping in Nicosia. Eight passengers were booked on a

Middle East Airlines Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. ( ar, طيران الشرق الأوسط ـ الخطوط الجوية اللبنانية ''Ṭayyarān al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ – al-Khuṭūṭ al-jawiyyah al-lubnāniyyah''), more commonly known as Middle ...

flight the next day.

Aftermath

Recovery of remains and wreckage

Within a day of the crash, 51 bodies were recovered from the sea. Contrary to initial reports, none were wearing

life jackets A personal flotation device (PFD; also referred to as a life jacket, life preserver, life belt, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid or flotation suit) is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suite that is worn by a ...

. Some were wearing wristwatches that had stopped at 5:25. Investigators concluded that the aircraft had suffered some form of damage during the initial radio call to Nicosia ATC at about 5:15 a.m. and had disintegrated in flight about eight minutes later. They estimated the aircraft's wreckage to be scattered on the seabed over an area of about at a depth of below the surface. After a drop tank was recovered from the sea, investigators hypothesised that the aircraft crashed following a

mid-air collision In aviation, a mid-air collision is an aviation accident, accident in which two or more aircraft come into unplanned contact during flight. Owing to the relatively high velocities involved and the likelihood of subsequent impact with the ground o ...

with a military aircraft. However, searchers also found a cushion from one of the Comet's passenger seats floating on the surface of the sea, which was found to contain evidence of a military-grade

plastic explosive Plastic explosive is a soft and hand-moldable solid form of explosive material. Within the field of explosives engineering, plastic explosives are also known as putty explosives or blastics. Plastic explosives are especially suited for explos ...

. The mid-air collision theory was discarded and no attempt was undertaken to retrieve any submerged wreckage. The seat cushion and other objects from the cabin were analysed by experts in forensic explosives at the UK's

Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

, the first time that the institution performed such an analysis.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * "The Safety Record Worsens" ''

Flight International ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's oldes ...

'' magazine, 19 October 1967, p
636
an

(online archive version) retrieved 25 June 2010 * "Comet Sabotage? – the Evidence", ''Flight International'' magazine, 5 September 1968, p

an

(online archive version) retrieved 25 June 2010 {{coord missing, Greece Aviation accidents and incidents in 1967 Aviation accidents and incidents in Greece Accidents and incidents involving the de Havilland Comet 1967 in Greece Unsolved airliner bombings Mass murder in 1967 Flight 284 Flight 284 Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1967 1967 in Cyprus October 1967 events in Europe

Aircraft

Flight

Aftermath

Recovery of remains and wreckage

See also

References