Narrative:
A Douglas C-47B, XV-NIE, operated on a passenger flight from Saigon-Tan Son Nhat Airport to Quang Ngai Airport, Vietnam.
The flight took off at 00:35 with an ETA at Quang Ngai of 02:50 hours. While en route, the Quang Ngai was flooded. Attempts by Saigon ACC to contact the aircraft after 02:00 hours all failed.
The aircraft was found to have struck the nearly vertical wall of a mountain, at an elevation of about 400 m, 20 km NNW of Quang-Ngai. The location of the wreckage suggested that the flight crew got lost and flew too low in a mountainous area while attempting to reach the nearby airport of Chu Lai, 8 km ENE of the wreckage site.
Probable Causes:
Pilot factor - the pilot-in-command flew VFR in IMC in an attempt to divert to an alternative airport.
Contributing factor - Adverse weather conditions.
Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
| Status: | |
| Date: | Saturday 17 November 1973 |
| Type: |  Douglas C-47B-10-DK (DC-3) |
| Operator: | Air Vietnam |
| Registration: | XV-NIE |
| MSN: | 26355/14910 |
| First flight: | 1944 |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90C |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 24 / Occupants: 24 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 27 / Occupants: 27 |
| Aircraft damage: | Damaged beyond repair |
| Location: | 20 km (12.5 mls) NNW of Quang Ngai ( Vietnam)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Saigon-Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN/VVTS), Vietnam |
| Quang Ngai Airport (XNG), Vietnam |
A Douglas C-47B, XV-NIE, operated on a passenger flight from Saigon-Tan Son Nhat Airport to Quang Ngai Airport, Vietnam.
The flight took off at 00:35 with an ETA at Quang Ngai of 02:50 hours. While en route, the Quang Ngai was flooded. Attempts by Saigon ACC to contact the aircraft after 02:00 hours all failed.
The aircraft was found to have struck the nearly vertical wall of a mountain, at an elevation of about 400 m, 20 km NNW of Quang-Ngai. The location of the wreckage suggested that the flight crew got lost and flew too low in a mountainous area while attempting to reach the nearby airport of Chu Lai, 8 km ENE of the wreckage site.
Probable Cause:
Probable Causes:
Pilot factor - the pilot-in-command flew VFR in IMC in an attempt to divert to an alternative airport.
Contributing factor - Adverse weather conditions.
Classification:
VFR flight in IMCControlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
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 Saigon-Tan Son Nhat International Airport to Quang Ngai Airport as the crow flies is 528 km (330 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.
Distance from Saigon-Tan Son Nhat International Airport to Quang Ngai Airport as the crow flies is 528 km (330 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: 
Vietnam
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Douglas DC-3
- ca 13.000 built
- 4142nd loss
- 1642nd fatal accident
- 71st worst accident (at the time)
- 81st worst accident (currently)
Vietnam- 18th worst accident (at the time)
- 22nd worst accident (currently)
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