British European Airways Flight 226

British European Airways Flight 226 was an international scheduled Cyprus Airways flight, operated on behalf of British European Airways, from London to Tel Aviv with stopovers in Rome, Athens, Istanbul, Ankara, and Nicosia. On 21 December 1961, the pilots lost control of the de Havilland DH.106 Comet 4B shortly after take-off from Ankara Esenboğa Airport. The aircraft stalled, sinking back to the ground where it impacted heavily, destroying the aircraft and killing 27 of the 34 people on board.

Accident

The flight was uneventful until the departure from Ankara Airport. The ground time between landing and taking off again for the onward flight to Nicosia was 46 minutes. The aircraft then taxied to the starting point of runway 21. The takeoff run until reaching the rotation point was normal in terms of the speeds achieved and the duration. One to two seconds after takeoff, the aircraft assumed an excessive climb angle.

According to some eyewitnesses, it was twice the normal climbing angle, others said it was 45 to 50 degrees. Eyewitnesses stated that at this point the engine noise changed and one wing tilted. At an altitude of 450 feet, the aircraft, whose left wing was pointed downwards, experienced a stall. The plane fell flat to the ground and impacted 1,600 meters from the tower on a heading of 214 degrees at 11:43 p.m. local time. The accident killed all 7 crew members and 20 of the 27 passengers.