Accident description
Last updated: 22 May 2013
| Status: | |
| Date: | 14 MAR 1972 |
| Time: | 18:04 |
| Type: | Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 10B3 |
| Operator: | Sterling Airways |
| Registration: | OY-STL |
| C/n / msn: | 267 |
| First flight: | 1970 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 106 / Occupants: 106 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 112 / Occupants: 112 |
| Airplane damage: | Destroyed |
| Airplane fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | ca 20 km W of Kalba (United Arab Emirates)
 |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Int'l Non Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Colombo-Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB/VCBI), Sri Lanka |
| Dubai Airport (DXB/OMDB), United Arab Emirates | |
| Flightnumber: | 296 |
Sterling Flight 296 was a charter service from Colombo (CMB) to Copenhagen (CPH), Denmark. A refueling stop was planned at Dubai (DXB). The Caravelle jet was cleared for a straight-in VOR approach to runway 30. The crew descended out of FL135 until the plane struck a mountain ridge at 1600 feet.
PROBABLE CAUSE: Descended below minimum prescribed altitude, probably because the pilots thought they were closer to Dubai than they actually were, due to incorrect information on the outdated flight plan and/or due to a misreading of the weather radar. Events:
Sources:
Sample newspaper article from Newspaperarchive.com
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 Colombo-Bandaranaike International Airport to Dubai Airport as the crow flies is 3270 km (2044 miles).
Distance from Colombo-Bandaranaike International Airport to Dubai Airport as the crow flies is 3270 km (2044 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.
United Arab Emirates