1963 Ankara mid-air collision

Middle East Airlines

Industry	Airline
Founded	1945
Headquarters	Beirut , Lebanon
Products	Air transport services

Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence

On Friday, 1 February 1963, a mid-air collision took place above Ankara, Turkey. The incident involved Middle East Airlines Flight 265, a Vickers Viscount model Vickers 754D, which was approaching for landing after departing from Cyprus. It collided with a Douglas C-47A operated by the Turkish Air Force. Both aircraft crashed directly into the urban area beneath them. This tragedy resulted in the deaths of all seventeen individuals aboard both planes, along with eighty-seven casualties on the ground.

Vickers Viscount

Middle East Airlines Flight 265 was a commercial passenger service traveling from Cyprus to Ankara, carrying eleven passengers and three crew members. The aircraft was a Vickers Viscount 754D, bearing the registration OD-ADE and operated by Middle East Airlines. Initially, this airliner was registered as G-APCE and ordered by the British Overseas Airways Corporation. Originally intended for transfer to one of BOAC’s subsidiaries, Lebanese Middle East Airlines (MEA), in April 1957 it was redirected to Cyprus Airways to operate on the London–Cyprus route. Assembly of the aircraft began on 11 June and was completed by September, at which point it was painted in Cyprus Airways livery and named "Buffavento." However, since British European Airways was already servicing the London-Cyprus route, Cyprus Airways deemed the aircraft unnecessary. Consequently, on 31 October 1957, it was re-registered as OD-ADE and undertook its maiden flight on 24 November. On 12 December, the aircraft was officially transferred to MEA, its original customer. At the time of the accident, this Viscount had accumulated 13,187 flight hours and undergone 5,515 pressurization cycles.

The flight crew aboard this ill-fated journey comprised two pilots and one flight attendant:

• The captain, aged 29, held a pilot’s license valid until 30 May 1963 and had been certified as a captain on the Vickers Viscount since August 1962. He had logged approximately 2,925 flight hours on this type.

• The first officer, aged 38, possessed a pilot’s license valid through 17 May 1963 and had been qualified as a captain on the Viscount since June 1960. His total flight time on this aircraft type was around 4,200 hours.

Turkish Air Force C-47

The second aircraft involved in the incident was a Douglas C-47A Skytrain, bearing the registration CBK-28, operated by the Turkish Air Force. Manufactured in 1944, this plane had accumulated 2,340 flight hours at the time of the crash. The crew on board included two pilots—an instructor and a trainee—along with a radio operator. The instructor and pilot in command was 33 years old, having been licensed to fly since May 1955, with a total of 1,452 hours logged specifically on the C-47. The trainee pilot was 22 years old, held a pilot’s license since July 1962, and had completed 36 hours flying this model. On the day of the accident, CBK-28 was engaged in a training mission departing from Etimesgut Air Base. The trainee occupied the left seat and wore blue-tinted glasses; an orange plexiglass panel was affixed to the left side of the windshield to obstruct outside visibility as part of instrument training procedures. The supervising instructor sat in the right seat.

Accident

Meteorological observations recorded at 15:00 over Ankara indicated cloud cover beginning at approximately 3,000 feet (910 m), with visibility ranging between 10 and 20 kilometers. The collision occurred at an altitude of 7,000 feet above Ankara under favorable weather conditions.

The C-47 took off from Etimesgut at 11:22 GMT; during its instrument training flight, it followed a course southeast of the Gölbaşı radio beacon for about ninety minutes before turning back toward Etimesgut under visual flight rules. The planned duration for this flight was one hour and thirty minutes.

Flight 265 contacted Esenboğa air traffic control at 13:04 GMT to report its intention to descend from flight level 185 to flight level 105 and anticipated passing Gölbaşı at 13:07. At 13:05, clearance was granted to descend to 6,500 feet. Controllers instructed Flight 265 to notify them upon initiating descent for landing on runway 03. The altimeter setting provided was 1015.5 mb. Flight 265 confirmed descending to 6,500 feet and planned to communicate upon reaching the Ankara beacon; it was descending from flight level 125 with intent to report at flight level 105. At 13:07 GMT, the aircraft reported being at flight level 100 and inquired about entering a holding pattern; it had not yet checked in with Ankara air traffic control but intended to do so shortly. By 13:09, the aircraft was over the Ankara beacon at an altitude of 8,000 feet and continued descending to flight level 65. Although air traffic control expected further communication, no additional contact was made; repeated attempts to reach Flight 265 starting at 13:13 were unsuccessful.

The Viscount collided with the C-47 while flying on a heading of 283°, as the C-47 was on a heading of 243°, both maintaining an altitude of approximately 7,000 feet. It was observed that the Viscount attempted evasive action by pulling upward but did not succeed in avoiding impact. Following the collision, both aircraft crashed into a residential area, resulting in the deaths of 87 individuals on the ground.

Causes

The inquiry determined that the aircraft impacted at an angle of approximately 40°. Observers present during the incident noted the presence of cloud cover at the collision site. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) attributed responsibility to the Viscount pilot, citing inaccurate judgment of the distance between Gölbaşı and Ankara, non-adherence to international radio communication protocols, and deviation from the designated flight plan by operating under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) rather than the prescribed Instrument Flight Rules (IFR).

Bibliography

• Mid-air collision on 1 February 1963 involving Middle East Airlines Viscount 754 (OD-ADE) and Turkish Air Force C-47 (CBK 28) near Ankara, Turkey (excerpts from the Turkish Ministry of Communications, Department of Civil Aviation report dated 30 April 1963). ICAO Digest No. 15, Volume I (PDF) (ICAO Circular 78-AN / 66), Montreal: International Civil Aviation Organization, 1966, pp. 43–50, archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2017, retrieved 26 March 2017. Alternate source at baaa-acro.com.