Comair Flight 206
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante · In-flight breakup due to suicide bombing
From Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW) to O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB)
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
- 17 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 17
- Survivors
- 0
- 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
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante
- Aircraft type
- Embraer EMB-110
- 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
- ZS-LGP
- Operator
- Comair
- Onboard fatalities
- 17
- Route
- From Hendrik Van Eck Airport (PHW)To O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB)
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
On Tuesday 1 March 1988, Comair Flight 206, an Embraer EMB-110P1 Bandeirante flying from Phalaborwa to Johannesburg was approaching Johannesburg International Airport to land when it broke up in flight over Germiston.
Accident
Takeoff and the cruise were uneventful. During approach to Johannesburg at dusk at 5:25 PM local time, the pilots reported to air traffic control that they were preparing to land. No problems on board were reported during this final radio call. At 5:28 PM, witnesses reported hearing an explosion and saw the aircraft break apart in mid-air over an industrial park in Germiston, just 13 kilometers south O.R Tambo International Airport. One section of the fuselage crashed into a Coca-Cola factory. There were no survivors. The cockpit was found a quarter of a kilometer away from the rest of the fuselage, despite the flight having been relatively low at the time of the accident.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
Reports indicated an explosive device on board; investigators determined that a bomb containing nitroglycerin and ammonium nitrate had been detonated on board the aircraft. The bomber was 33-year-old Emil Schultz, a South African miner who was heavily in debt and experiencing marital problems. He had previously worked on a farm, and then as a mine supervisor. In both jobs, Schultz had access to explosives and materials to build a bomb. He had taken out a large life insurance policy shortly before the flight.
The investigation identified deficiencies in Phalaborwa Airport's security. Only passengers' checked bags were examined while their carry-on bags were not, and no body scans were performed. Investigators assumed that Schultz had likely brought the bomb on board in his hand luggage, but could not prove his involvement beyond a reasonable doubt.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Comair Flight 206” (revision 1368178486, 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: Comair Flight 206
- Article
- Comair Flight 206
- Revision
- 1368178486 · 2026-08-07 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q85753460
- 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 "Comair Flight 206" (page 62721105, revision 1368178486)
- 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.