1992 Cap Skirring CV-640 crash
Gambcrest Enterprises Convair CV-640 · Controlled flight into terrain
From Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS) to Cap Skirring Airport (CSK)
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
- 31 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 59
- Survivors
- 28
- 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-640
- Aircraft type
- Convair CV-640
- 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
- N862FW
- Operator
- Gambcrest Enterprises
- Onboard fatalities
- 31
- Route
- From Blaise Diagne International Airport (DSS)To Cap Skirring Airport (CSK)
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Psychological
- Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Estimated position: the centre of Diouloulou, the place the Wikipedia article names. Not the accident site.
From the Wikipedia article
On 9 February, 1992, a Convair CV-640 operated by Gambcrest Enterprises crashed into a hotel in Dakar, killing 31 people on board. The crash is the second deadliest in Senegal behind Air France Flight 343. This is also the deadliest aircraft accident to involve the Convair CV-640.
Flight
When boarding the flight passengers described the flight as a "cattle truck" with the seats being wrecked, the club initially only had contracts with Air Senegal.
The flight would take place on 9 February 1992 when Club Med tourists would board a flight chartered by Air Senegal on behalf of Club Med. Most of the people onboard were French except for two Belgians and the crew members.
The flight would take off at around 4:30 am from Dakar heading to Cap Skirring, the copilot on the flight was deaf and nearsighted and was grounded in the United States. The captain an alcoholic and was 67 years old.
The aircraft would crash into a marshy area killing 31 people in the village of Kafountine which was around 52 kilometers North of Cap Skirring.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
As the aircraft was preparing for its final approach, the pilots mistook the hotel lights for the runway and lined up with the hotel instead of the runway. The crew were also not familiar with the region with the crew consisting of an American, a Norwegian, and a Russian. As a result of this, the aircraft ended up crashing 52 kilometers from its destination.
The airline was also scrutinized as the aircraft was illegally operated by the company with no registration process done to the aircraft, thus making the aircraft unsuitable to fly. The trials also investigation that Gambcrest was going through major financial problems at the time of the accident. It was later confirmed that the pilots were at fault of the accident along with malfunctioning equipment.
Text from the Wikipedia article “1992 Cap Skirring CV-640 crash” (revision 1368140577, 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: 1992 Cap Skirring CV-640 crash
- Revision
- 1368140577 · 2026-08-07 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q56303254
- 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 "1992 Cap Skirring CV-640 crash" (page 83195863, revision 1368140577)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- centre of the town the Wikipedia infobox site names (GeoNames, CC BY 4.0)
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- Reviewed correction (2026-09-26): A passenger charter arranged by the airline Air Senegal for tour passengers and flown by Gambcrest Enterprises: a commercial airline charter. The article: "Club Med tourists would board a flight chartered by Air Senegal on behalf of Club Med"
- 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.