Incident Overview

Date: Saturday 3 June 1944
Aircraft Type: Douglas Dakota III (DC-3)
Owner/operator: Royal Air Force – RAF
Registration Number: FD886
Location: near Oujda – ÿ Morocco
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 16 / Occupants: 17
Component Affected: AircraftAircraft
Category: Accident
A Dakota FD886 aircraft crashed into a mountain, resulting in the deaths of 16 people. One passenger survived. The aircraft was climbing steeply and then took advantage of a cloud hole to maneuver below it, circling in a valley before turning to port and climbing into cloud. Visibility was limited.A Dakota FD886 aircraft crashed into a mountain, resulting in the deaths of 16 people. One passenger survived. The aircraft was climbing steeply and then took advantage of a cloud hole to maneuver below it, circling in a valley before turning to port and climbing into cloud. Visibility was limited.

Description

Dakota FD886 took off at 06:43 UTC on a routine transport flight from Biakra to Oujda. It crashed into the side of a mountain, killing 16 on board. One passenger survived. The mountaintop was covered by drifting cloud at the time and the aircraft was climbing steeply when it crashed. Five minutes before its own signalled ETA the pilot took advantage of a hole in the cloud over which he had been flying for some considerable time, to get below the cloud. Upon breaking cloud the aircraft was seen to circle in a valley. Unaccountably the aircraft was seen to turn to port and climb into cloud away from a road and valley, which was clear, with visibility 4 to 5 miles below cloud. An Inquiry into the accident found that “the accident was a gross error of judgement by the pilot in flying blind unnecessarily when uncertain of his position, and for the navigator’s poor navigation who did not use all means at his disposal.”

Source of Information

http://www.awm.gov.au/catalogue/research_centre/pdf/rc09125z023_1.pdfhttp://www.awm.gov.au/catalogue/research_centre/pdf/rc09125z023_1.pdf

Primary Cause

Pilot error in flying blind, compounded by inadequate navigation.Pilot error in flying blind, compounded by inadequate navigation.

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