Statuts:
Date:	14 MAR 1972
Heure:	18:04
Type/Sous-type:	Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 10B3
Compagnie:	Sterling Airways
Immatriculation:	OY-STL
Numéro de série:	267
Année de Fabrication:	1970
Equipage:	victimes: 6 / à bord: 6
Passagers:	victimes: 106 / à bord: 106
Total:	victimes: 112 / à bord: 112
Dégats de l'appareil:	Détruit
Conséquences:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Lieu de l'accident:	ca 20 km W of Kalba (Emirats Arabes Unis)
Phase de vol:	En vol (ENR)
Nature:	Charter International
Aéroport de départ:	Colombo-Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB/VCBI), Sri Lanka
Aéroport de destination:	Dubai Airport (DXB/OMDB), Emirats Arabes Unis
Numéro de vol:	296

Détails:
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because the pilots thought they were closer to Dubai than they actually were, due to incorrect information on the outdated flight plan and/or due to a misreading of the weather radar.

Sources:
Sample newspaper article from Newspaperarchive.com