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| Date: | Saturday 21 October 1972 |
| Time: | 21:30 |
| Type: |  NAMC YS-11A-500 |
| Owner/operator: | Olympic Airways |
| Registration: | SX-BBQ |
| MSN: | 2155 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1971 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 37 / Occupants: 53 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 3 km from Athens-Ellinikon International Airport (ATH) -
 Greece
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Kerkyra-I. Kapodistrias Airport (CFU/LGKR) |
| Athens-Ellinikon International Airport (ATH/LGAT) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A NAMC YS-11A-500 passenger plane, registered SX-BBQ, was damaged beyond repair in an accident at sea near Athens-Ellinikon International Airport (ATH), Greece. Olympic Airways Flight 506 from Corfu carried 49 passengers and four crew members. Thirteen passengers and three crew members survived the accident.
Olympic Airways Flight 506 took off from Kerkyra, Corfu at 19:55 for the over water flight to Athens. The airplane crashed in sea while approaching Athens in reduced visibility about 21:30.
The final report on the accident was released on 9 January 1973. It established that pilot error was the main cause of the crash. It stated that the crew (1) didn't notice that some instruments, like the pressure altimeter, were giving incorrect and conflicting data; (2) didn't follow the correct approach path to Ellinikon International Airport; (3) didn't make a correct and gradual descent, but instead executed a descent that was too steep and too quick; (4) didn't make correcting manoeuvers in time when the aircraft was low and about to impact the water; and (5) didn't alert the passengers in time.
Sources:
Dete.gr
Olympic Airways Flight 506
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Oct-2025 14:16 | RDV | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
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