Date:	Friday 3 October 1980
Time:
Type:	Douglas C-47A-35-DK (DC-3)
Owner/operator:	Kurfiss Aviation
Registration:	ECT-025
MSN:	13375
Year of manufacture:	1944
Engine model:	Pratt & Whitney R-1830
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Aircraft missing, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	between Madrid and Perpigan -   Mediterranean Sea
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Ferry/positioning
Departure airport:	Madrid-Cuatro Vientos Airport (ECV/LECU)
Destination airport:	Perpignan Airport (PGF/LFMP)
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
The DC-3 aircraft had been decommissioned by Spanish Air Force and stored at Madrid-Cuatro Vientos Airport. It was auctioned in July 1979 and bought by Kurfiss Aviation of Germany to become part of an aviation museum. The aircraft was then repaired by mechanics contracted by the new owner. A provisional, restricted Certificate of Airworthiness was issued to allow the airplane to be ferried to Frankfurt via Perpignan Airport (PGF).
On the day of the ferry flight a VHF radio was installed but two-way communication could not be established. The departure was delayed until finally took off at 15:29 hours, without authorization, using a runway which was not rated for the weight of the DC-3 aircraft. There was no communication with the flight due to the radio problems. The aircraft presumably reached the zone of Barcelona in very low visibility conditions, due to both the hazy conditions and the diminishing daylight hours. The airplane did not arrive at Perpignan. A search operation was started but no sign of the plane was found. It is presumed to have crashed in the Mediterranean Sea.

CONCLUSIONS: "The cases of disappearance of aircraft are surrounded by the mystery that results from the lack of data. In the case of the ECT-025, no one knows what occurred after take-off from the Cuatro Vientos Airport, and as a result, no probable cause of an accident can be determined."

Flight International 25 October 1980 (1546)
Expediente Tecnico A-049/80
The Search for Douglas DC-3 ECT-025 / Ruud Leeuw

Date/time	Contributor	Updates