Criminal Occurrence
Last updated: 23 May 2013
| Estado: | |
| Fecha: | 24 FEB 1985 |
| Hora: | ca 17:30 |
| Tipo: | Dornier 228-100 |
| Operador: | Alfred Wegener Institut |
| Registración: | D-IGVN |
| Numéro de série: | 7039 |
| Año de Construcción: | 1984 |
| Tripulación: | Fatalidades: 3 / Ocupantes: 3 |
| Pasajeros: | Fatalidades: 0 / Ocupantes: 0 |
| Total: | Fatalidades: 3 / Ocupantes: 3 |
| Daños en la Aeronave: | Anulado |
| Consecuencias: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Ubicación: | S of Dakhla, West Sahara (Marruecos)
 |
| Fase: | En ruta (ENR) |
| Naturaleza: | Ferry/Posicionado |
| Aeropuerto de Salida: | Dakar-Yoff Airport (DKR/GOOY), Senegal |
| Lanzarote Airport (ACE/GCRR), España |
The Dornier 228 named "Polar 3" was on a return flight (together with Do-228 "Polar 2") to Germany following a South Pole expedition. Both aircraft departed Dakar around 14:45 for a flight to Arrecife, Canary Islands. Last radio contact with Polar 3 was around 17:30. While overflying the Western Sahara, 5 minutes behind Polar 2 and at a lower altitude, Polar 3 was shot down by Frente Polisario guerrillas. They probably though the plane in question was a Moroccan spy plane. The Western Sahara territory was fully annexed by Morocco in 1979. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 cease-fire; a referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed.
Fuentes:
» Luchtvaartwereld nr.1, 1986 (p.19-20)
Fotos
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 Dakar-Yoff Airport to Lanzarote Airport as the crow flies is 1620 km (1013 miles).
Distance from Dakar-Yoff Airport to Lanzarote Airport as the crow flies is 1620 km (1013 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.
