South African Airways Flight 201

Infobox Airliner accident|name=South African Airways Flight 201
Date=8 April 1954
Type=In-flight metal fatigue failure
Site=Mediterranean between Naples/Stromboli
Origin=London Heathrow Airport
Last stopover=Ciampino Airport
Destination=Johannesburg Jan Smuts via Cairo International Airport
Fatalities=21
Coordinates= coord|39|55|N|14|30|E|display=inline,title|type:landmark|name=South African Airways Flight 201
Injuries=0
Aircraft Type=de Havilland Comet 1
Operator=British Overseas Airways Corporation
Tail Number=airreg|G|ALYY|disaster
Passengers=14
Crew=7
Survivors = 0

South African Airways Flight 201, a de Havilland Comet 1, took off at 18:32 GMT from Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy en route to Cairo, Egypt, on the second stage of its flight from London to Johannesburg, South Africa. The flight crashed, killing all aboard at around 19:07 GMT on April 8, 1954. The flight was operated as a charter by British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) using the aircraft airreg|G|ALYY|disaster ("Yoke Yoke"), with a South African crew of seven, and carrying 14 passengers.

Flight and disaster

Gerry Bull and other BOAC engineers examined the aircraft for Flight 201. Previously the same team examined BOAC Flight 781 prior to its final flight."Comet Air Crash" ("Crash of the Comet"). "Seconds From Disaster".]

Flying as "SA201", Yoke Yoke took off from London for Rome at 13:00 GMT on Thursday April 7, 1954, on the first leg southwards to Johannesburg, arriving at Rome approximately 2 1/2 hours later, at 17:35hrs. On arrival at Rome engineers discovered some minor faults, including a faulty fuel-contents gauge, which delayed the aircraft's departure by some 25 hours, Yoke Yoke finally being ready to depart for Cairo on the evening of Thursday 8 April.

Commanded by Captain William Mostert, the aircraft took off for Cairo at 18:32hrs GMT and climbed rapidly towards its cruising height of 35,000 ft, the crew reporting over the Ostia Beacon at 18:37hrs, passing 7,000 ft. The weather was good but with an overcast sky.

Another report was made by the aircraft, first at 18:49hrs at Ponza, where it reported climbing through 11,600 ft and another at 18:57hrs when it reported passing abeam of Naples. At 19:07hrs, while still climbing, the aircraft contacted Cairo on the long range HF radio and reported an ETA of 21:02hrs GMT.

This was the last thing heard from Yoke Yoke, as sometime after, unseen, the aircraft disintegrated in the night sky at around 35,000 ft, killing everyone onboard.

After repeated attempts at re-gaining contact by both Cairo and Rome were made, it was realised that another Comet had been lost. Initial news of the accident was leaked to the press by a German radio station which had been monitoring the radio transmissions.

Bull said that he felt difficulty accepting the fact that the same circumstances that occurred with the BOAC flight occurred with the South African Airways flight.

earch, recovery and investigation

As soon as it heard of the crash BOAC once again voluntarily grounded all its Comets as it had done three months earlier after the BOAC Flight 781 disaster. The Italian air-sea rescue services were notified, and searching began at dawn the next day, subsequently involving the Royal Navy carrier HMS "Eagle" and the destroyer "HMS Daring". Some time later in the day a report was received from a BEA Ambassador aircraft of a patch of oil some 70 miles east of Naples and bodies and wreckage in the water 30 miles south-east of Stromboli. The depth of the Mediterranean Sea at the crash site meant that a salvage mission was ruled out as impractical.

Metal fatigue

At the time of the accident, the investigation into the crash of BOAC Flight 781 was still in progress, but suspicion of the cause of the loss of Yoke Peter had fallen on the possibility of an engine turbine failure. During the previous grounding of all Comets, modifications had since been made to the Comets, including Yoke Yoke, that seemed to eliminate this possibility. The investigation of BOAC 781 revealed manufacturer design defects and metal fatigue that resulted ultimately in the explosive decompression that caused both accidents.

ee also

* List of notable decompression accidents and incidents.
* Lists of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners
* National Geographic "Seconds From Disaster" episodes

References

* "Air Disasters" by Stanley Stewart - Arrow Books (UK) 1986/89 - ISBN 0-09-956200-6
* "Report of the Public Inquiry into the causes and circumstances of the accident which occurred on the 10th January, 1954, to the Comet aircraft G‐ALYP" - Official Report - 1955 (1)

(1) Contains details relevant to both accidents.

External links

* " [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/10/newsid_2709000/2709957.stm 1954: Comet jet crashes with 35 on board] ," "BBC"