Date:	Sunday 20 November 1949
Time:	16:56
Type:	Douglas C-47A-25-DK (DC-3)
Owner/operator:	Aero Holland
Registration:	PH-TFA
MSN:	13462
Year of manufacture:	1944
Total airframe hrs:	1697 hours
Engine model:	Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 34 / Occupants: 35
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	31,5 km S of Oslo-Fornebu Airport (FBU) -   Norway
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi
Departure airport:	Brussel-Zaventem Airport (BRU/EBBR)
Destination airport:	Oslo-Fornebu Airport (FBU/ENFB)
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A Douglas C-47A (DC-3), operated by Aero Holland, was destroyed in an accident near Oslo, Norway. All but one of the 35 occupants were killed in the accident.
The airplane was chartered to fly kids from Tunisia to Norway for a holiday. The flight departed Tunis Airport at 01:21 UTC and landed at Brussels, Belgium for refuelling at 09:45 UTC. At 12:50 the DC-3 departed Brussels on an IFR flight to Oslo, Norway with a planned en route altitude of 11.000 feet.
En route over the Netherlands, the crew requested a clearance for 3000 feet and to continue VFR. The controller at Amsterdam agreed and the IFR flight plan was cancelled.
Radio contact with Oslo was established at 15:40 UTC. Altitude at that time was 2000 feet. The conditions at Oslo-Fornebu Airport were fine with a visibility of 12-15 km. Cloud base was 380 m (1250 feet). At 16:50 UTC the crew requested a QDM bearing, which was transmitted to the crew three minutes later. When the runway lights were switched on the radio operator had to switch to battery power, causing a radio outage the lasted several seconds.
The flight could no longer be contacted and was reported overdue.
The wreckage was found on November 22. One boy had survived the accident.

The Dutch aviation board concluded that the crew had attempted to descend below the cloud base during their approach to Fornebu. Safety altitude was 900 m (2950 feet) in the area, but the cloud base (8/8) was at 750 m (2460 feet). At 400 m (1310 feet) there were still some clouds (2-3/8). The flight descended to over high ground until it struck a wooded slope and crashed.

Raad voor de Luchtvaart Uitspraak Ongeval PH-TFA

photo (c) Polygoon Hollands Nieuws; Oslo-Fornebu Airport (FBU); November 1949; (publicdomain)

photo (c) Polygoon Hollands Nieuws; Oslo-Fornebu Airport (FBU); November 1949; (publicdomain)

photo (c) Nationaal Archief; Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport (AMS); 02 April 1948; (publicdomain)

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