Crew 5 Date 8 December 1969 Fatalities 90 (all) | Passengers 85 Survivors 0 Registration SX-DAE Operator Olympic Airlines | |
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Destination Ellinikon International Airport Similar 1969 Aswan Ilyushin Il, Mexicana Flight 704, Hawthorne Nevada Airlines Fl, Air France Flight 212, Philippine Airlines Flight 158 | ||
Olympic Airways Flight 954 was a Douglas DC-6B aircraft that crashed into a mountain near Keratea (approx. coordinates 37°48' N, 23°57' E), Greece. All 85 passengers and 5 crew on board died in the crash.
Contents
The crash
The flight was a domestic scheduled passenger service from Chania on the island of Crete to Athens. While on approach to Athens and with its undercarriage retracted, the aircraft struck Mount Paneio at an altitude of approximately 2,000 feet. The weather at the time of the crash consisted of rain and high winds.
The crash of Flight 954 was the deadliest aviation accident in Greek history at the time it took place, a record it maintained until the crash of Helios Airways Flight 522 nearly thirty-six years later. It is still the deadliest aviation accident involving a Douglas DC-6., and deadliest crash in the history of Olympic Airways.
Cause
It was ruled that the flight crew had deviated from the proper track and descended below the minimum safe altitude while making an ILS approach.