Martinair Flight 138
1974 aviation accident / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Martinair Flight 138 was a chartered flight from Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The aircraft was operated by the Dutch airline Martinair on behalf of Garuda Indonesian Airways. On 4 December 1974, the aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-55CF,[1] crashed into a mountain shortly before landing, killing all 191 people aboard – 182 Indonesian hajj pilgrims bound for Mecca, and nine crew members.[2][3] The crash remains the deadliest in Sri Lankan aviation history and the third-deadliest involving a DC-8, after Arrow Air Flight 1285R and Nigeria Airways Flight 2120.[4] At the time of the crash, it was the second-deadliest aviation accident in history, after the crash of Turkish Airlines Flight 981 which occurred earlier that same year.[5]
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 4 December 1974 (1974-12-04) |
Summary | Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error |
Site | Maskeliya, Sri Lanka 6°53′32″N 80°29′26″E |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-8-55CF[1] |
Operator | Martinair on behalf of Garuda Indonesian Airways |
Registration | PH-MBH |
Flight origin | Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia |
Stopover | Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
Destination | Jeddah International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
Occupants | 191 |
Passengers | 182 |
Crew | 9 |
Fatalities | 191 |
Survivors | 0 |
Flight 138 departed Juanda International Airport in Surabaya at approximately 12.03 UTC, with a stopover at Bandaranaike Airport in Colombo. At around 16.30 UTC air traffic control in Colombo cleared the flight. At 16.38 UTC another air traffic controller is said to have intervened, cleared the flight down to 5,000 ft (1,500 m) and reported clearing to 8,000 ft (2,400 m). Colombo approach then cleared the flight down to 2,000 ft (610 m) at 16.44 and told the flight to expect a runway 04 approach. The crew aboard Flight 138 were then asked to report when the airport was in sight. The crew then continued their descent until the aircraft crashed into Saptha Kanya Mountain range at an altitude of approximately 4,355 ft (1,327 m) and at around 40 nmi (74 km; 46 mi) east of Colombo.