Dan-Air Flight 1903

Dan-Air Flight 1903

G-APDN, the aircraft involved, pictured in 1964, when it was operated by BOAC
Accident
Date	3 July 1970
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain
Site	Near Arbúcies, Catalonia, Spain 41°47′45″N 2°27′34″E / 41.79583°N 2.45944°E / 41.79583; 2.45944
Aircraft
Aircraft type	de Havilland DH 106 Comet series 4
Operator	Dan Air Services Ltd
Registration	G-APDN
Flight origin	Manchester Airport, United Kingdom
Destination	Barcelona–El Prat Airport, Spain
Occupants	112
Passengers	105
Crew	7
Fatalities	112
Survivors	0

Dan-Air Flight 1903 was an unscheduled international passenger service from Manchester to Barcelona, operated by Dan Air Services Limited under contract with British tour operator Clarksons Holidays, which arranged for the flight to carry a group of holidaymakers who had booked an all-inclusive package holiday with the operator.

On 3 July 1970, the de Havilland Comet 4 aircraft serving the flight crashed into the wooded slopes of the Serralada del Montseny near Arbúcies, in the Province of Girona of Catalonia, Spain. The crash resulted in the aircraft's destruction and the deaths of all 112 on board. It was the deadliest aviation accident in 1970, and remains the deadliest aviation accident involving the De Havilland Comet.^[1]

The crash was Dan-Air's first fatal accident killing fare-paying passengers. News of the first major accident, in the company's eighteenth year of existence,^[2] came just two days after British tour operator Global Holidays had awarded it a four-year, £2.5-million contract for all Global charter flights from Birmingham, starting in April 1971.^[3][4]