Narrative:
Ariana Afghan flight 202 arrived at Beirut at 23:30 GMT on November 20 after a flight from Frankfurt. Technical difficulties caused a delay of about 20 hours. The next day the flight took off from runway 18 for a flight to Tehran, Kandahar and Kabul. Some 2 minutes following takeoff the plane crashed in the hills of Aramoun.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The accident was attributed to a combination of: 1) a navigational error - in that the pilot did not right turn out as early as he should have, either because he forgot or because he was distracted by some unusual occurrence; and 2) a fire indication (or possibly a fire) in no.1 engine which induced the pilot to start fire emergency action with a resulting reduction in the rate of turn and the rate of climb."
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Saturday 21 November 1959 |
| Type: |  Douglas DC-4 |
| Operator: | Ariana Afghan Airlines |
| Registration: | YA-BAG |
| MSN: | 18367 |
| First flight: | 1944 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 19 / Occupants: 22 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 24 / Occupants: 27 |
| Aircraft damage: | Damaged beyond repair |
| Location: | ca 30 km NE of Beirut International Airport (BEY) ( Lebanon)
|
| Phase: | Initial climb (ICL) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Beirut International Airport (BEY/OLBA), Lebanon |
| Tehran-Mehrabad Airport (THR/OIII), Iran | |
| Flightnumber: | 202 |
Ariana Afghan flight 202 arrived at Beirut at 23:30 GMT on November 20 after a flight from Frankfurt. Technical difficulties caused a delay of about 20 hours. The next day the flight took off from runway 18 for a flight to Tehran, Kandahar and Kabul. Some 2 minutes following takeoff the plane crashed in the hills of Aramoun.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The accident was attributed to a combination of: 1) a navigational error - in that the pilot did not right turn out as early as he should have, either because he forgot or because he was distracted by some unusual occurrence; and 2) a fire indication (or possibly a fire) in no.1 engine which induced the pilot to start fire emergency action with a resulting reduction in the rate of turn and the rate of climb."
Classification:
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
Sources:
» ICAO Accident Digest, Circular 62-AN/57 (213-216)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 Beirut International Airport to Tehran-Mehrabad Airport as the crow flies is 1449 km (906 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.
Distance from Beirut International Airport to Tehran-Mehrabad Airport as the crow flies is 1449 km (906 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.
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.
languages: 
Lebanon
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Douglas DC-4
- 1242 built
- 222nd loss
- 130th fatal accident
- 42nd worst accident (at the time)
- 58th worst accident (currently)
Lebanon- 2nd worst accident (at the time)
- 4th worst accident (currently)
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