ASN Aircraft accident Douglas DC-3-194 G-AGBB La Coruña, Spain [Bay of Biscay]
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Status:
Date:Tuesday 1 June 1943
Time:10:54 UTC
Type:Silhouette image of generic DC3 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Douglas DC-3-194
Operator:British Overseas Airways Corporation - BOAC
Registration: G-AGBB
MSN: 1590
First flight: 1936
Crew:Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Passengers:Fatalities: 13 / Occupants: 13
Total:Fatalities: 17 / Occupants: 17
Aircraft damage: Damaged beyond repair
Location:350 km (218.8 mls) N off La Coruña, Spain [Bay of Biscay] (   Atlantic Ocean)
Phase: En route (ENR)
Nature:International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Lisboa-Portela de Sacavém Airport (LIS/LPPT), Portugal
Destination airport:Whitchurch Airport, United Kingdom
Flightnumber: 777
Narrative:
BOAC Flight 777-A, a scheduled British Overseas Airways Corporation civilian airline flight on 1 June 1943 from Lisboa-Portela de Sacavém Airport (LIS), Portugal to Whitchurch Airport near Bristol, United Kingdom, was attacked by eight German Junkers Ju 88s and crashed into the Bay of Biscay, killing 17 on board including several notable passengers, most prominent being actor Leslie Howard.
Theories abound that the aircraft, a Douglas DC-3, was attacked because the Germans believed that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was aboard. Other theories suggest the DC-3 was targeted because several passengers, including Howard, were British spies. During the Second World War, British and German civilian aircraft operated out of the same facilities at Portela and the incoming and outgoing traffic was watched by Allied and Axis spies. The Lisbon-Whitchurch route frequently carried agents and escaped POWs to Britain.

Sources:
» BOAC Flight 777 (Wikipedia)
» Leslie Howard (Wikipedia)


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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.
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Douglas DC-3

  • ca 13.000 built
  • 197th loss
  • 65th fatal accident
  • 9th worst accident (at the time)
  • 305th worst accident (currently)
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 Atlantic Ocean
  • 3rd worst accident (at the time)
  • 32nd worst accident (currently)
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