1949 Sabena DC-3 Crash
Douglas DC-3 · Loss of control after an in-flight structural failure of the wing
From Paris-Le Bourget Airport (LBG/LFPB), France 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
- 8 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 8
- 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
- 0
- 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
Douglas DC-3
- Aircraft type
- Douglas DC-3
- 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-AUQ
- Operator
- Sabena
- Onboard fatalities
- 8
- Route
- From Paris-Le Bourget Airport (LBG/LFPB), FranceTo Brussels Airport (BRU)
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft structures
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
The 1949 Sabena DC-3 Crash was the crash of a Douglas DC-3 of the Belgian airline Sabena in Aulnay-sous-Bois, France, on 18 December 1949. All eight people on board die in the incident.
Crash
The Sabena flight departed Le Bourget Airport bound for Zaventem Airport with four passengers and four crew members on board at 20.30 pm on 18 December 1949. Shortly after takeoff while still climbing, the aircraft fired a green and red rocket as a sign of distress before flying low over the rooftops of the surrounding neighborhood. After reaching a maximum height of only a few hundred feet, one of the wings separated and sent the aircraft in an uncontrolled dive towards the ground.
The plane crashed 4 km southeast of the airport near Aulnay-sous-Bois after clipping a house and burst into flames. The impact with the house caused damage to the corner of the house and toppled a chimney, but the occupants of the house were unharmed. After striking the house, the plane crashed in a field about 600 yd away and buried itself deep in the ground. The flight avoided hitting a crowded movie theater nearby. Firefighters, Police officers and airport employees reached the crash site to aid any survivors but it was discovered that all eight onboard had perished in the flaming wreckage. One firefighter and a local inhabitant were injured in the rescue attempt and taken to the hospital.
Investigation and cause
Probable cause
The cause of the crash was determined to be caused by the in-flight structural failure of the wing, but the reason for the wing's failure remains unknown.
Text from the Wikipedia article “1949 Sabena DC-3 Crash” (revision 1366656734, 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: 1949 Sabena DC-3 Crash
- Article
- 1949 Sabena DC-3 Crash
- Revision
- 1366656734 · 2026-07-29 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q97495282
- 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 "1949 Sabena DC-3 Crash" (page 64570376, revision 1366656734)
- 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.