Incident Overview
Description
The aircraft lost its orientation due to the cloudy weather and was circling over Kalamata city (South-West Peloponnesos, instead of Athens). In the time of the event, there were military operations in process in that area. There are conflicting reports about the circumstances of the accident. It has been suggested that the aircraft suffered a controlled flight into terrain due to poor weather. Other accounts say that when the pilot transmitted a flare, this was treated as a threat and the airplane was fired upon from the ground. A third account states that communist insurgents thought the aircraft was going to drop weapons, so they lit flares to signal a landing area for parachutes. The pilot thought the flares were outlining an emergency landing strip. As he descended, the aircraft impacted a hillside. The airplane was operating on a flight from Prague, Czechoslovakia to Lydda, Israel, with en route stops at Rome and Athens.
Source of Information
http://efimeris.nlg.gr/ns/pdfwin.asp?c=64&dc=24&db=12&da=1948http://efimeris.nlg.gr/ns/pdfwin.asp?c=64&dc=24&db=12&da=1948Primary Cause
Poor weather conditions and a pilot’s transmission of a flare, interpreted as a threat, leading to ground fire.Poor weather conditions and a pilot’s transmission of a flare, interpreted as a threat, leading to ground fire.Share on:
