11 fatalities

Disappearance of aircraft over Gulf of Martaban with eleven occupants (XY-ABO)

Gulf of Martaban, MyanmarFlight

On March 14, 1949, a De Havilland DH.104 Dove (registration XY-ABO) operated by Union of Burma Airways was involved in an aviation accident near Gulf of Martaban, Myanmar in flight. 11 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: Due to lack of evidence, it as not possible to determine the exact cause of the accident. This summary draws on records from the Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A); 8 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

Sourcesthe Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives (B3A)Primary reportUpdated 2026-08-05Data APIEditorial standards

An aircraft vanished while en route to Moulmein after a final radio transmission. Search efforts in the Gulf of Martaban recovered debris but no survivors among the eleven people on board.

What happened

On the morning of the incident, at 0810, the crew was cruising vertically over the Gulf of Martaban under good weather conditions. At that time, they communicated with ground control to provide an estimated time of arrival (ETA) for Moulmein at 0845 local time.

Sixteen minutes after this initial contact, the crew transmitted a new ETA to ground control. This message marked the final radio communication received from the aircraft. When the plane did not arrive at its destination as expected, search and rescue operations were immediately launched.

Recovery teams located scattered debris in the waters of the Gulf of Martaban. Despite extensive efforts, no trace of the 11 occupants was found. The crew consisted of a pilot and a radio officer.