ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 339963
| Date: | Saturday 3 June 1944 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Douglas Dakota III (DC-3) |
| Owner/operator: | Royal Air Force - RAF |
| Registration: | FD886 |
| MSN: | 9538 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1943 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 16 / Occupants: 17 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Oujda -
 Morocco
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
| Oujda-Les Angades Airport (OUD/GMFO) |
Dakota FD886 took off at 06:43 UTC on a routine transport flight from Biakra to Oujda. It crashed into the side of a mountain, killing 16 on board. One passenger survived.
The mountaintop was covered by drifting cloud at the time and the aircraft was climbing steeply when it crashed.
Five minutes before its own signalled ETA the pilot took advantage of a hole in the cloud over which he had been flying for some considerable time, to get below the cloud. Upon breaking cloud the aircraft was seen to circle in a valley. Unaccountably the aircraft was seen to turn to port and climb into cloud away from a road and valley, which was clear, with visibility 4 to 5 miles below cloud.
An Inquiry into the accident found that "the accident was a gross error of judgement by the pilot in flying blind unnecessarily when uncertain of his position, and for the navigators poor navigation who did not use all means at his disposal."
Sources:
RAAF Personnel serving on attachment in Royal Air Force Squadrons and Support Units in World War 2 and Missing with No Known Grave
Revision history:
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