Olympic Airways Flight 954 - Misplaced Pages

1969 airplane crash

Olympic Airways Flight 954
Accident
A Olympic Airways DC-6, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident
Date	December 8, 1969 (1969-12-08)
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)
Site	Near Keratea, Greece
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-6B
Aircraft name	Isle of Corfu
Operator	Olympic Airways
Registration	SX-DAE
Flight origin	Chania International Airport
Destination	Athens-Ellinikon International Airport
Occupants	90
Passengers	85
Crew	5
Fatalities	90
Survivors	0

Olympic Airways Flight 954 was a Douglas DC-6B aircraft that crashed into a mountain near Keratea (approx. coordinates 37°48' N, 23°57' E), Greece, on December 8, 1969. All 85 passengers and 5 crew on board died in the crash.

The crash

The flight was a domestic scheduled passenger service from Chania on the island of Crete to Athens. While on approach to Athens and with its undercarriage retracted, the aircraft struck Mount Paneio at an altitude of approximately 2,000 feet. The weather at the time of the crash was characterized by rain and high winds.

The crash of Flight 954 was the deadliest aviation accident in Greek history at the time it took place, a record it maintained until the crash of Helios Airways Flight 522 nearly thirty-six years later. It is still the deadliest aviation accident involving a Douglas DC-6, and the deadliest crash in the history of Olympic Airways.

Cause

It was ruled that the flight crew had deviated from the proper track and descended below the minimum safe altitude while making an ILS approach.

References

Aircraft accident Douglas DC-6B SX-DAE Athens
Gero, David (1996). Aviation Disasters Second Edition. Patrick Stephens Limited. p. 91.

External links

1969 Keratea Olympic Airlines DC-6 crash at AirDisaster.com

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1969 (1969)
Jan 5 Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701Jan 6 Allegheny Airlines Flight 737Jan 13 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933Jan 18 United Air Lines Flight 266Feb 18 El Al Flight 432Feb 18 Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708Feb 24 Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104Mar 5 Prinair Flight 277Mar 16 Viasa Flight 742Mar 20 United Arab Airlines Aswan crashMar 25 Delta Air Lines Flight 821Apr 2 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165Apr 15 EC-121 shootdown incidentApr 28 LAN-Chile Flight 160May 23 Theft of C-130Jun 4 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 704Jun 23 Yukhnov mid-air collisionJun 28 Aeroflot Flight F-28Jul 26 TWA Flight 5787Aug 3 Aeroflot Flight N-826Aug 26 Aeroflot Flight 1770Aug 29 TWA Flight 840Aug 31 Newton Cessna 172 crashSep 9 Allegheny Airlines Flight 853Sep 12 Philippine Air Lines Flight 158Sep 21 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 801Sep 26 La Paz LAB DC-6 crashNov 19 Mohawk Airlines Flight 411Nov 20 Nigeria Airways Flight 925Dec 3 Air France Flight 212Dec 8 Olympic Airways Flight 954Dec 11 Korean Air Lines YS-11 hijacking
1968 ◄ ► 1970

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1969 (1969)

Jan 5 Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701Jan 6 Allegheny Airlines Flight 737Jan 13 Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933Jan 18 United Air Lines Flight 266Feb 18 El Al Flight 432Feb 18 Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Flight 708Feb 24 Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104Mar 5 Prinair Flight 277Mar 16 Viasa Flight 742Mar 20 United Arab Airlines Aswan crashMar 25 Delta Air Lines Flight 821Apr 2 LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165Apr 15 EC-121 shootdown incidentApr 28 LAN-Chile Flight 160May 23 Theft of C-130Jun 4 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 704Jun 23 Yukhnov mid-air collisionJun 28 Aeroflot Flight F-28Jul 26 TWA Flight 5787Aug 3 Aeroflot Flight N-826Aug 26 Aeroflot Flight 1770Aug 29 TWA Flight 840Aug 31 Newton Cessna 172 crashSep 9 Allegheny Airlines Flight 853Sep 12 Philippine Air Lines Flight 158Sep 21 Mexicana de Aviación Flight 801Sep 26 La Paz LAB DC-6 crashNov 19 Mohawk Airlines Flight 411Nov 20 Nigeria Airways Flight 925Dec 3 Air France Flight 212Dec 8 Olympic Airways Flight 954Dec 11 Korean Air Lines YS-11 hijacking

1968 ◄ ► 1970

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in Greece
1960s	El Al Flight 253 attack (December 1968) Olympic Airways Flight 954 (December 1969)
1970s	Olympic Airways Flight 255 hijacking (July 1970) Lufthansa Flight 303 hijacking (December 1973) Olympic Airways Flight 830 (November 1976) Olympic Airways Flight 411 (August 1978) Swissair Flight 316 (October 1979)
1980s	Trans World Airlines Flight 847 (June 1985) TWA Flight 840 bombing (April 1986) Olympic Aviation Flight 545 (August 1989)
1990s	Aerosvit Flight 241 (December 1997)
2000s	Malév Flight 262 (July 2000) Helios Airways Flight 522 (August 2005) Turkish Airlines Flight 1476 (October 2006)
2020s	Meridian Flight 3032 (July 2022)
Crashes in water near Greece: Cyprus Airways Flight 284 (October 1967) · TWA Flight 841 (September 1974)

37°48′N 23°58′E / 37.800°N 23.967°E / 37.800; 23.967

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