Olympic Airways Flight 506
NAMC YS-11A · Crashed into the sea on approach
From Corfu Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport (CFU) to Dongyang Hengdian General Airport (HEW)
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
- 37 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 53
- Survivors
- 16
- 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
NAMC YS-11A
- Aircraft type
- Namc YS-11
- 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
- SX-BBQ
- Operator
- Olympic Airways
- Onboard fatalities
- 37
- Route
- From Corfu Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport (CFU)To Dongyang Hengdian General Airport (HEW)
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Psychological
- Personnel issues › Task performance
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems
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 21 October 1972, Olympic Airways Flight 506, a NAMC YS-11 operating a domestic flight in Greece from Corfu International Airport, Corfu, to Ellinikon International Airport, Athens, crashed in the sea, about 250 m from the coast near the city of Voula, on approach to its destination. 37 of the 53 people on board were killed.
Accident
The aircraft, carrying 49 passengers and 4 crew members, took off from Corfu International Airport at 7:55 pm local time for its flight to Athens Airport. Landing in Athens was scheduled for 9:06 pm. Flight 506 encountered moderate turbulence and storms on its route to Athens. The storms made the tracking of the aircraft on radar difficult, so air traffic control asked flight 506 to descend to flight level FL150. When the plane was near Athens it lined up for landing on runway 33 of Ellinikon International Airport, but when it was over the sea about 5,5 km south of the airport it disappeared from radar. The air traffic controller then tried multiple times to contact flight 506, but received no answer. Other nearby flights were also contacted and asked to if they had the NAMC YS-11A in sight.
The impact with water created large fractures and holes in the fuselage of the aircraft. This let large quantities of water enter and flood the aircraft, which soon sank; many of the victimes died by drowning. One of the surviving passengers, N. Stefanou, managed to get out the sinking plane and swim to shore. He then reached the PIKPA hospital in Voula, asked for help and alerted rescue teams.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
The final report on the accident was released on 9 January 1973. It established that pilot error was the main cause of the crash. It stated that the crew: didn't notice that some instruments, like the pressure altimeter, were giving incorrect and conflicting data; didn't follow the correct approach path to Ellinikon International Airport; didn't make a correct and gradual descent, but instead executed a descent that was too steep and too quick; didn't make correcting manoeuvers in time when the aircraft was low and about to impact the water; and didn't alert the passengers in time. Captain Patroklos Thomadakis, who survived the incident, was accused of involuntary manslaughter and involuntary personal injuries. He was acquitted when the trial ended in the summer of 1974.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Olympic Airways Flight 506” (revision 1352389323, 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: Olympic Airways Flight 506
- Article
- Olympic Airways Flight 506
- Revision
- 1352389323 · 2026-05-03 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q134126745
- 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 "Olympic Airways Flight 506" (page 79687888, revision 1352389323)
- 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.