Gulf Aviation DC-3 Disappears Over Sea Near Sharjah (VT-DGS)

Flight Details and Disappearance A Gulf Aviation Douglas DC-3 was operating a return flight from Bahrain to Sharjah via Doha. The aircraft departed Doha at 05:16 GMT after a 30-minute stopover. It was cleared for flight level 70 and reported to Bahrain air traffic control at 06:04 GMT that it was in contact with Sharjah, with an estimated time of arrival of 06:45 GMT. The final radio contact occurred one minute later, when the flight reported to Sharjah. A pilot of a de Havilland Heron approaching Sharjah at flight level 50 reported hearing the DC-3 crew attempt to contact Sharjah three times. Sharjah control did not hear these calls. The aircraft subsequently crashed into the sea off Sharjah under unknown circumstances. ## Search and Official Findings Search and rescue operations were conducted but were suspended a week later after no trace of the aircraft or its 20 occupants was found. The official investigation stated that, due to a lack of evidence and the failure to locate wreckage, the exact cause of the accident could not be determined. Investigators examined all possible factors but found none to be plausible. The absence of radio communication with Sharjah after initial contact and the lack of any distress call led to a tentative conclusion that the aircraft may have suffered a catastrophic disaster while over the sea. However, the interception of a radio call from the aircraft around its expected arrival time, combined with a considerable tailwind on the route, suggested the possibility that the aircraft overflew Sharjah in poor visibility. The investigation noted that the ETA given by the aircraft did not appear to account for the tailwind component indicated by the Heron pilot. Failure to account for this factor could have caused the aircraft to descend on its ETA into high ground east of Sharjah. This might also explain why Sharjah did not receive any messages that may have been transmitted on VHF. The Sharjah NDB was fully operational during the flight and should have indicated to the pilot that Sharjah had been overflown, unless the aircraft's ADF system was mishandled or suffered a multiple failure.