1953 Sabena Convair CV-240 crash
Convair CV-240-12 · Loss of engine power on takeoff, loss of control
From Salzburg Airport (SZG) to Brussels Airport (BRU)
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
- 44 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 44
- 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
Convair CV-240-12
- Aircraft type
- Convair CV-240
- 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
- OO-AWQ
- Operator
- Sabena
- Onboard fatalities
- 44
- Route
- From Salzburg Airport (SZG)To Brussels Airport (BRU)
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft power plant
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Not plotted · Not plotted: the Wikipedia article gives no coordinates, and its site names no town or airport that matches exactly.
From the Wikipedia article
On 14 October 1953, a Sabena Convair CV-240 crashed 3 km north of Frankfurt, West Germany, shortly after taking off from Frankfurt International Airport. All 44 occupants on board the aircraft were killed.
Crash
After having arrived from Salzburg Airport for her stopover, the Sabena flight was scheduled to depart from Frankfurt International Airport bound for Zaventem Airport with 40 passengers and four crew members on board at 15.20 pm on 14 October 1953. However shortly after takeoff, the crew noticed that both engines were losing power. The crew followed the normal procedures and raised the flaps while trying to keep control of their plane. The aircraft ultimately became uncontrollable and stalled, crashing in a wooded area near Kelsterbach about two miles north of the airport she departed from. Firefighters and four ambulances reached the crash scene after following the rising smoke plume but it was quickly discovered that all 44 onboard had perished in the flaming wreckage.
Investigation and cause
Cause
The cause of the crash was determined to possibly be a heavy deposit of lead on the spark plugs in the engines. The investigation states that as the plugs warmed up during takeoff, the metal deposits formed a circuit which ended up short circuiting the plugs causing the fatal engine failure and subsequent stalling and crash of the aircraft. It is unknown whether the pilots actions contributed to the crash or if the fatal outcome was unavoidable.
Text from the Wikipedia article “1953 Sabena Convair CV-240 crash” (revision 1371365198, 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: 1953 Sabena Convair CV-240 crash
- Revision
- 1371365198 · 2026-08-26 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q97495283
- 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 "1953 Sabena Convair CV-240 crash" (page 64570089, revision 1371365198)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site; country from Wikidata (P17)
- Map position
- none
- 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 is an airline according to Wikidata
- 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.