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Central African Airways Flight 890

9 Aug 1958 · near Benina International Airport

Vickers Viscount 748D · Pilot error

From Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (HRE) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR)

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Event

Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
Accident
Event fatalities
36 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
Unknown
Survivors
18
InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
Unknown
OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
Airline

Vickers Viscount 748D

Category
Airplane · from aircraft type
RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
VP-YNE
Onboard fatalities
36
Route
From Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport (HRE)To London Heathrow Airport (LHR)

Cause areas

  • Personnel issues › Action/decision

From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.

Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.

From the Wikipedia article

Central African Airways Flight 890, a Vickers Viscount 745D, crashed during a scheduled passenger flight from Wadi Halfa, Sudan, to Benghazi, Libya, about 9 km southeast of Benina International Airport in Libya. A total of forty-seven passengers and seven crew members were on board of whom only eighteen survived, making it the deadliest ever plane crash in Libya at the time of the accident. It was also the deadliest accident for Central African Airways.

Investigation and cause

Cause of the crash

According to an International Civil Aviation Organization accident digest, the plane crashed while making a nighttime approach to runway 33R, and while flying in clouds the pilot descended below a safe altitude, causing the aircraft to crash into high ground. While the reason for the quick descent remains unknown, it is believed the pilot may have misinterpreted the reading of his altimeter as a result of fatigue and possible indisposition.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Central African Airways Flight 890” (revision 1339317318, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article

Sources

Wikipedia article: Central African Airways Flight 890
Article
Central African Airways Flight 890
Revision
1339317318 · 2026-02-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q4569258
Licence
Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
Record
Wikipedia article "Central African Airways Flight 890" (page 31012637, revision 1339317318)
Date
Wikipedia infobox: date
Place and country
Wikipedia infobox: site; country from Wikidata (P17)
Map position
Wikipedia article coordinates
Aircraft, operator and route
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
Operation
flight number in the article title
Fatalities
Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
Ground fatalities
not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
Summary
Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
  • Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.