Background
The flight was a scheduled service from Salisbury, Rhodesia, to London, known as the Zambezi service. The service was operated by three crews, with one crew operating from Salisbury to Entebbe, the second from Entebbe to Benina, and the third from Benina to London.
Flight Details
On 8 August, the service departed from Salisbury at 0713LT, with a stop at Ndola for traffic purposes. At Entebbe, a relief crew took over the aircraft for the sector to Benina. Stops were made at Khartoum and Wadi Halfa for refuelling, and the aircraft left Wadi Halfa at 2120LT for Benina. The flight was completely uneventful and slightly ahead of schedule up to the time of the accident.
Accident Sequence
At 0112 hours, the aircraft was cleared into the Benina control zone. At the request of the pilot, at 0114 hours, Benina Approach Control granted permission to make a direct approach onto runway 330° Right using the locator and the responder beacons. Between 20 and 30 seconds after the pilot acknowledged this clearance, the aircraft struck high ground 5.5 miles to the southeast of the aerodrome. Fire broke out on impact.
Injuries and Damage
Of the 7 crew and 47 passengers aboard the aircraft, 4 crew and 32 passengers were killed.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the cause of the accident was that when making an approach to runway 330° Right and whilst flying in cloud, the pilot descended below the correct height, thus permitting the aircraft to strike high ground. The reason why the pilot descended so low, 5.5 miles from the aerodrome, could not be established, but the most probable cause is that he misinterpreted the reading of his altimeter. The possibility that his efficiency had been reduced by fatigue and a slight indisposition could not be excluded.