On 20 March 1969, a
United Arab Airlines
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Ilyushin Il-18 crashed while attempting to land at
Aswan Airport
Aswan International Airport , also known as Daraw Airport, is a domestic airport (despite its name) located 16 km southwest of Aswan, Egypt. It was built in 1956 and upgraded in 1992 and 1999 by the Egyptian government.
Airlines and dest ...
. 100 of the 105 passengers and crew on board were killed in the crash.
The crash
The flight was a non-scheduled international passenger service from
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's promi ...
to
Aswan, Egypt. The aircraft was carrying home Muslim worshippers who had won a pilgrimage through a lottery. It was dark in the early morning when the flight attempted to land and blowing sand had reduced visibility to 2–3 kilometers. After two unsuccessful attempts to land, the aircraft was making a third try when it banked to the right and hit the left side of the runway. The starboard wing tore off and a fuel spillage followed which caused the crashed aircraft to burst into flames.
Cause
The probable cause was determined to be that the "Pilot descended below the minimum safe altitude without having the runway lights clearly in sight. A contributory factor was fatigue arising from continuous working hours without suitable rest periods."
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aswan IIyushin II-18 crash
1969 in Egypt
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1969
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by weather
Aviation accidents and incidents in Egypt
Accidents and incidents involving the Ilyushin Il-18
EgyptAir accidents and incidents
March 1969 events in Africa