Accident description
Last updated: 19 June 2013
| Status: | |
| Date: | 19 FEB 1958 |
| Type: | de Havilland DH-114 Heron 1B |
| Operator: | Gulf Aviation |
| Registration: | G-APJS |
| C/n / msn: | 14001 |
| First flight: | 1952 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Airplane damage: | Written off |
| Airplane fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Mount Scifarello (Italy) |
| Phase: | Unknown (UNK) |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Athens-Ellinikon International Airport (ATH/LGAT), Greece |
| Roma-Ciampino Airport (CIA/LIRA), Italy |
The de Havilland Heron was on a ferry flight from Bahrain to England for inspections and modifications. The flight left Athens at 14:07 GMT for an IFR flight plan flight to Rome. En route the crew requested a lower flight level, but this was not granted because the requested level was below safety minimums. The aircraft did not arrive at Rome and was found to have crashed against the southeast slope of Mount Scifarello at a height of about 5675 feet (1730m).
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The accident was caused by a navigational error. The following were contributing causes: a) weather conditions encountered were worse than forecast; b) the pilot had difficulty in receiving MF bearings; c) there was no anti-icing equipment on the wing surfaces." Sources:
» ICAO Accident Digest, Circular 59-AN/54 (79-82)
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Athens-Ellinikon International Airport to Roma-Ciampino Airport as the crow flies is 1037 km (648 miles).
Distance from Athens-Ellinikon International Airport to Roma-Ciampino Airport as the crow flies is 1037 km (648 miles).
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
