1969 Aswan Ilyushin Il-18 crash
United Arab Airlines Ilyushin Il-18D · Pilot error in low visibility and poor weather
From King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) to Aswan International Airport (ASW)
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
- 100 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 105
- Survivors
- 5
- 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
- 5
- 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
Ilyushin Il-18D
- Aircraft type
- Ilyushin IL-18
- 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
- SU-APC
- Operator
- United Arab Airlines
- Onboard fatalities
- 100
- Route
- From King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED)To Aswan International Airport (ASW)
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
- Personnel issues › Physical
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
On 20 March 1969, an Ilyushin Il-18 operated by United Arab Airlines crashed while attempting to land at Aswan Airport, Egypt, killing 100 of the 105 passengers and crew on board.
The crash
The flight was a non-scheduled international passenger service from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Aswan, Egypt, bringing Muslim Hajj pilgrims back from the holy city of Mecca. The flight arrived in darknes in the early morning, with visibility reduced to 2–3 kilometers due to a sandstorm. After two unsuccessful attempts to land, the aircraft was approaching for a third time when it banked to the right and hit the left side of the runway. The starboard wing tore off and a fuel spillage followed which caused the crashed aircraft to burst into flames.
Investigation and cause
Cause
The probable cause was determined to be that the "Pilot descended below the minimum safe altitude without having the runway lights clearly in sight. A contributory factor was fatigue arising from continuous working hours without suitable rest periods."
Text from the Wikipedia article “1969 Aswan Ilyushin Il-18 crash” (revision 1363880680, 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: 1969 Aswan Ilyushin Il-18 crash
- Revision
- 1363880680 · 2026-07-13 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q4573472
- 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 "1969 Aswan Ilyushin Il-18 crash" (page 35303279, revision 1363880680)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- 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
- operator named as an airline in the infobox
- 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.