.jpg) A South African Airways Boeing 707-344C, similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 20 April 1968 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain due by pilot error, spatial disorientation, and design flaw |
| Site | 5.3 km (3.3 mi) east of Strijdom International Airport, Windhoek, Namibia 22°26′58″S 17°32′02″E / 22.44944°S 17.53389°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 707-344C |
| Aircraft name | Pretoria |
| Operator | South African Airways |
| Registration | ZS-EUW |
| Flight origin | Jan Smuts Int'l Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa |
| 1st stopover | Strijdom Int'l Airport, Windhoek, Namibia |
| 2nd stopover | Presidente Craveiro Lopes Airport, Luanda, Angola |
| 3rd stopover | Gando Airport, Las Palmas, Canary Islands |
| 4th stopover | Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt am Main, West Germany |
| Destination | Heathrow Airport, London, England |
| Occupants | 128 |
| Passengers | 116 |
| Crew | 12 |
| Fatalities | 123 |
| Survivors | 5 |
South African Airways Flight 228 was a scheduled flight from Johannesburg, South Africa, to London, England. The plane operating the flight, which was only six weeks old, flew into the ground soon after take-off after a scheduled stopover in Windhoek, South West Africa (present day Namibia) on 20 April 1968.[1] Five passengers survived, while 123 people died. The subsequent investigation determined that the accident was attributable largely to pilot error; the manufacturer subsequently also recognised the lack of a ground proximity warning system in its aircraft. The accident is the deadliest aviation accident to date in Namibia.[1]
- ^ a b Ranter, Harro (April 1968). "Boeing 707-344C Accident". Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011.