 The aircraft involved in the accident seen in 1972 while still in service with Loftleiðir. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 4 December 1974 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error |
| Site | Maskeliya, Sri Lanka 6°53′32″N 80°29′26″E / 6.89222°N 80.49056°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-8-55CF |
| Operator | Martinair on behalf of Garuda Indonesian Airways |
| IATA flight No. | MP138 |
| ICAO flight No. | MPH138 |
| Call sign | MARTINAIR 138 |
| Registration | PH-MBH |
| Flight origin | Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia |
| Stopover | Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Destination | Kandara Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
| Occupants | 191 |
| Passengers | 182 |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 191 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Martinair Flight 138 was a charter flight of Martinair from Surabaya to Jeddah with stopover in Colombo. On 4 December 1974, the Douglas DC-8 operating the flight crashed into a mountain shortly before landing, killing all 191 people aboard – 182 passengers, all of whom were Indonesian Hajj pilgrims, and nine crew members.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
Flight 138 departed Surabaya for Jeddah via Colombo at approximately 12.03 UTC. 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.
- ^ "1970". martinair.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "Accident description". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 TC-JAV Bois d'Ermenonville". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 16 June 2020.