ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-54A-DO (DC-4) OO-SBL Bunia Airport (BUX)
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Status:Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Date:Friday 22 April 1960
Time:05:55 UTC
Type:Silhouette image of generic DC4 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different
Douglas C-54A-DO (DC-4)
Operator:Sobelair
Registration: OO-SBL
MSN: 3099
First flight: 1943
Total airframe hrs:30594
Engines: 4 Pratt & Whitney R-2000-D5
Crew:Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Passengers:Fatalities: 28 / Occupants: 28
Total:Fatalities: 35 / Occupants: 35
Aircraft damage: Destroyed
Aircraft fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:8 km (5 mls) SE of Bunia Airport (BUX) (   Congo (Democratic Republic))
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature:Int'l Non Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:Cairo International Airport (CAI/HECA), Egypt
Destination airport:Bunia Airport (BUX/FZKA), Congo (Democratic Republic)
Narrative:
A Douglas C-54 passenger plane was destroyed in an accident near Bunia, D.R.Congo. All 28 passengers and seven crew members were killed.
The Sobelair flight departed Brussel (BRU), Belgium at 09:11, April 21, on a flight to Elizabethville (now named Lubumbashi). Intermediate stops were planned at Rome, Cairo and Bunia. The flight left Cairo, Egypt at 20:49.
While descending towards Bunia, the C-54 flew into the Pic de Bogoro, some 60 metres below the summit.

Probable Cause:

PROBABLE CAUSE (translated from original French report): The accident occurred because the pilot, the captain, carried out a descent while the height of cloud base (ceiling) was below the minimum required by the Administration and the Operator.

Classification:
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain

Sources:
» Rampen in België / Hans Van Riemsdijk, Christian Deglas


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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 Cairo International Airport to Bunia Airport as the crow flies is 3158 km (1973 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few 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.
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Douglas DC-4

  • 1242 built
  • 226th loss
  • 133rd fatal accident
  • 28th worst accident (at the time)
  • 38th worst accident (currently)
» safety profile

 Congo (Democratic Republic)
  • The worst accident (at the time)
  • 10th worst accident (currently)
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