191 fatalities

1974-12-04: Martinair Flight 138 — Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

On December 4, 1974, a Martinair Flight 138 was involved in an aviation accident near Sri Lanka. 191 people were killed. The investigation identified controlled flight into terrain as a causal factor. This summary draws on records from Wikidata contributors; 1 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesWikidata contributorsPrimary reportUpdated 1780111919Data APIEditorial standards

On 4 December 1974, a Martinair DC-8 charter flight from Surabaya to Jeddah via Colombo crashed into a mountain before landing, killing all 191 on board.

Accident

On 4 December 1974, Martinair Flight 138, a charter flight from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with a scheduled stopover in Colombo, Sri Lanka, crashed into a mountain shortly before landing. The aircraft was a Douglas DC-8 operated by Martinair. All 191 people on board—182 passengers, all of whom were Indonesian Hajj pilgrims, and nine crew members—died in the crash.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Douglas DC-8. No other details about the specific aircraft were provided in the source.

Victims

The flight carried 182 passengers, all Indonesian Hajj pilgrims, and nine crew members. No survivors were reported.

Aftermath

The crash remains the deadliest in Sri Lankan aviation history and the third-deadliest involving a Douglas DC-8, after Arrow Air Flight 1285R and Nigeria Airways Flight 2120. At the time of the accident, it was the second-deadliest aviation disaster in history, surpassed only by Turkish Airlines Flight 981, which occurred earlier in 1974.

Contributing factors

controlled flight into terrain

Investigation report by Wikidata contributors. Original record: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4207890. This page is a structured re-presentation; facts and quotes are in the CC0 (Wikidata).