I have a question, but not a lot to go on to answer it. Maybe someone can help!
An acquaintance who was in the RAF in Sharjah in 1966 asked me if I knew about a particular crashed aircraft in the UAE. Now, I know a bit about some crashed aircraft there, but not this one. The story is that this chap has a log-book record. On 17 April 1966 he wrote:
“Remains of an aircraft believed to have crashed 10 years ago by the side of the the road to Ras-al-Khaima near Umm-al-Qiwain. The following were on various bits of the airframe(not much left either)”
49606 61738/B 49623
HG116 LL269
WT
He suggested it might have been a Wellington.
He does not know what the “bits” were, and there was apparently little identifiable. The only two numbers that could be RAF serials are HG116 and LL269. HG116 was a Warwick, but I do not know of any in service at Sharjah, and I would think 1956 was too late for them be have been in service anywhere. LL269 was not issued: it is in the middle of a Halifax batch, but not used.
So, can anyone hazard a guess? Thanks
PS: there is still an aviation hulk near the area he describes: that of Il76 TL-ACN, but that flew into the Umm Al Quwain strip in 1999.
By: l.garey - 10th January 2013 at 07:34
Yes Martin. I think it must have been military. The first suggestion by my correspondent was maybe Wellington. I have been in touch with him again and he says he remembers it as a “rust” coloured frame, some 4m long. I wonder if “rust” coloured indicates desert camouflage.
By: wieesso - 10th January 2013 at 07:04
Looking at the 149 occurrences in the 1956 ASN safety database, there is no similar location as mentioned in the log-book. So maybe it was a military aircraft and the crash wasn’t ever officially documented…
Martin
By: l.garey - 10th January 2013 at 06:44
It seems it was not the DC3 that Eric mentioned. Any other ideas?
By: l.garey - 9th January 2013 at 09:29
Thanks Eric. It is possible.
This flight would have been from the “old” Sharjah airport. The report you mention says it was “near” Sharjah. The crash site as far as I am able to determine was some 50km, at least, north east of Sharjah. To get to Bahrain the course would have been to the west, but maybe the crew was completely lost. The report is frightening to read. Reminds me of a more recent accident due to co-pilot “error”.
By: ericmunk - 9th January 2013 at 09:11
Could be this one:
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19530803-1
as the location and date seem roughly correct, and the 49… numbers could be a match for the engines?
By: l.garey - 9th January 2013 at 05:58
Correct Martin. I got the title wrong I see.
Mods: can you change the title to “Trying to identify a crash in UAE 1956”?
By: wieesso - 8th January 2013 at 19:19
On 17 April 1966 he wrote:
“Remains of an aircraft believed to have crashed 10 years ago…”
Laurence, the plane crashed 1956 – right?
Martin
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January 8, 2013 at 5:30 pm