Sterling Airways Flight 901
Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 10B3 · Crashed on take-off following landing gear failure
From Mehrabad International Airport (THR) to Copenhagen Kastrup Airport (CPH)
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
- 15 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- Unknown
- Survivors
- 81
- 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
- 37
- 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
Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle 10B3
- Aircraft type
- Sud SE-210
- 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
- OY-STK
- Operator
- Sterling Airways
- Onboard fatalities
- 15
- Route
- From Mehrabad International Airport (THR)To Copenhagen Kastrup Airport (CPH)
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft structures
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 15 March 1974, Sterling Airways Flight 901, a Sud Aviation Caravelle operated by Sterling Airways, experienced a landing gear failure as it was taxiing for take-off. The right main landing gear collapsed, which caused the right wing to contact the runway, rupturing a fuel tank and igniting the spilt fuel. The fire killed 15 passengers and injured 37 passengers and crew. The aircraft had been chartered by tour company Tjæreborg to take tourists around Asia, and was on the way back to Copenhagen when the accident happened. The accident came only two years after the crash of Sterling Airways Flight 296.
Accident
The Sud Aviation Caravelle had been chartered by travel agency Tjæreborg to take tourists on a tour around Asia. The tour had started in Copenhagen on 2 March 1974 and had taken the tourists to several cities, among them Shiraz, Bangkok, Hong Kong and New Delhi. The tour, on its 14th day, was making a quick refuelling stop at Tehran, before flying back to Copenhagen. As the aircraft was taxiing to the runway, the right main landing gear suddenly collapsed, causing a fuel tank in the right wing to rupture and spill fuel which then ignited.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
Soon after news of the accident had reached Copenhagen, the Danish Accident Investigation Board dispatched a team to Tehran, along with technicians from the Danish police and experts in identifying bodies. The AIB team was to assist the Iranian investigation team. Before the investigation began it was suspected that either metal fatigue or loss of hydraulics caused the accident. On the 30 March 1974 the AIB team released a statement stating that the probable cause of the accident was failure of the right main landing gear. As the landing gear was torn off, the fuel tank inside the wing ruptured, causing fuel to spill which then ignited. The accident report attributed the undercarriage collapse to a structural failure of the lower 'candelabra' fitting.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Sterling Airways Flight 901” (revision 1339315744, 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: Sterling Airways Flight 901
- Article
- Sterling Airways Flight 901
- Revision
- 1339315744 · 2026-02-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q19390475
- 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 "Sterling Airways Flight 901" (page 50658995, revision 1339315744)
- 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
- 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.