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| Date: | Thursday 13 March 1980 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62CF |
| Owner/operator: | Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), opf Scanair |
| Registration: | SE-DBI |
| MSN: | 46129/523 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1970 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 202 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | nr Burgos -
 Spain
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (ARN/ESSA) |
| Agadir-Inezgane Airport (AGA/GMAA) | |
| Investigating agency: | SHK |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft, a DC-8-62CF departed Arlanda at 08:35, flying under IFR on flight levels 350 and 370. Near Burgos, Spain, where the flight had proceeded without problems, the aircraft was cruising at flight level 370 in clear, turbulence-free air well above the clouds. The autopilot was engaged in ALTITUDE HOLD mode.
The captain was seated in the left seat with his lunch tray on his lap. The first officer had left his right seat, and the third pilot was about to take over as assisting pilot. During this seat change, around 11:40, before the third pilot had fully taken the right seat, the aircraft began to shake, the nose pitched up, and the autopilot automatically disengaged. The nose-up motion resulted in a climb. The captain gently pushed the control column forward and reduced thrust. The speed decreased from Mach 0.82 to Mach 0.78, and the climb leveled off at flight level 378.
During this attitude change, two passengers seated in the rear of the aircraft were seriously injured, while three others sustained minor injuries. Prior to the nose-up event, the captain had observed that the temperature had dropped from –45°C to –60°C over the past hour. A turbulence warning for the flight altitude had been issued after the aircraft’s departure from Stockholm-Arlanda but was not received onboard.
After the aircraft was returned to flight level 370, the autopilot was re-engaged. The captain visited the passenger cabin and confirmed that the passengers’ injuries were not severe enough to prevent continuing to the destination. The injured passengers were cared for by a flight attendant who was a trained nurse.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
SHK
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 26-Oct-2025 13:58 | ASN | Added |
| 26-Oct-2025 15:55 | ASN | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 26-Oct-2025 15:55 | ASN | Updated |
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