United Arab Airlines Flight 869 (1962)
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Template:Infobox aircraft occurrence
United Arab Airlines Flight 869 was a scheduled international passenger service operated by a de Havilland DH-106 Comet 4C aircraft flying from Hong Kong with an intermediate stop at Bangkok before continuing to Cairo. On 19 July 1962, the flight departed Hong Kong at 13:30 UTC carrying 18 passengers and eight crew members. The journey remained normal until the aircraft began its approach to Bangkok, when it crashed into the Khao Yai mountains, located approximately 96 km northeast of Bangkok, at 15:44 UTC. All on board perished.
The official investigation attributed the accident primarily to a series of navigational errors made by the pilot-in-command, which caused significant miscalculations in timing and distance during flight planning.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a de Havilland DH-106 Comet 4C, construction number 6464, which had been delivered to United Arab Airlines earlier in 1962. At the time of the crash, it had been operated by the airline for roughly three months.[1]
This airplane featured dual VOR receivers alongside Doppler and automatic direction finding equipment.[2]
Accident
Flight 869 departed from Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport, commencing the initial segment of its route to Cairo. Following takeoff, the plane ascended to an altitude of 31,000 feet (9,400 m).
At 15:08 UTC, the aircraft crossed into the Bangkok Flight Information Region and established communication with Bangkok Air Traffic Control at 15:14. During this first contact, the crew informed ATC that they had passed the Ubol Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) at 15:13 UTC and requested clearance to proceed directly to the Bangkok VOR. This clearance was granted, and by 15:17, the crew provided their estimated time of arrival (ETA) at the VOR as 15:47. They subsequently reported an ETA of 15:30 UTC for crossing the 100-mile (87 nmi; 160 km) boundary around the VOR.
The aircraft confirmed crossing the 100-mile boundary at 15:29 and then switched to Bangkok Control. Upon establishing contact at 15:30, the crew requested permission to descend, reporting their position as approximately 90 miles (78 nmi; 140 km) from the VOR. Bangkok Control instructed them to descend to an altitude of 4,000 feet (1,200 m) while following the 073 radial from the Bangkok VOR. The crew acknowledged this directive. During descent, they received weather updates for Bangkok and were advised to contact Bangkok Approach Control at 15:39 UTC.
Responsibility for the flight was transferred to Bangkok Approach Control at 15:40 UTC. Upon initial contact, the crew updated their ETA at the VOR to 15:44 and indicated they were descending from 13,000 feet (4,000 m). Approach control cleared them for an approach to runway 21R after passing over the VOR.
Communication with the aircraft was lost at 15:50 UTC. It is estimated that the crash occurred between 15:44 and 15:45 UTC.
Investigation
Analysis revealed that the aircraft's ground speed was approximately 455 mph (395 kn; 732 km/h). Based on this speed, it was determined that during their position report at 15:39, the aircraft was actually 137 miles (119 nmi; 220 km) away from the Bangkok VOR rather than the reported 90 miles (78 nmi; 140 km).[2]
- ↑ "De Havilland DH-106 Comet production list". RZ Jets. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "United Arab Airlines, Comet 4C, SU-AMW, accident 52 NM northeast of Bangkok Airport, Thailand, on 19 July 1962. Report released by the Director, Civil Aviation Administration, Department of Transport, Thailand, 15 November 1963" (PDF). ICAO Circular: Aircraft Accident Digest. II (14): 101–103. 1966.