Background
Middle East Airlines (MEA) Flight 265, a Vickers Viscount registered OD-ADE, was descending for Ankara-Esenboğa Airport, Turkey. The flight had been cleared for an approach to runway 03. Last radio contact was at 13:09 GMT when the crew reported being over the Ankara NDB at 8,000 feet, descending to 6,500 feet. The crew planned to contact Ankara again when inbound over the NDB.
Earlier that day, at 11:22 GMT, a Douglas C-47 transport plane of the Turkish Air Force (registration CBK-28) had taken off from Ankara's Etimesgut Air Base for an instrument training flight in the southeast region of the Gölbasi beacon. The flight was planned to last 1 hour 30 minutes. During such training flights, the student pilot sits in the left-hand seat, with an orange plexiglass panel placed on the left half of the windshield, and wears dark blue glasses. The instructor sits in the right-hand seat and maintains a lookout.
Collision
By the time MEA Flight 265 was descending for Esenboğa Airport, the C-47 had completed its training maneuvers and was returning to Etimesgut under visual flight rules (VFR). The Viscount, cruising on a heading of 283°, collided with the C-47, which was flying on a heading of 243° towards Etimesgut. The lower right-hand side of the Viscount's nose and its starboard wing struck the C-47 from behind at a 40° angle, in the door area on its port side.
Propeller No. 3 of the Viscount struck the C-47's left horizontal stabilizer, cutting it off. The blade ends broke off and remained with the C-47's tail unit near the base of the left horizontal stabilizer. Propeller No. 4 cut the underside of the tip of the right horizontal stabilizer. Both aircraft flew together for a very short time before separating. The C-47, having lost its tail unit, fell vertically immediately thereafter.
Prior to separation, the left horizontal stabilizer of the C-47 damaged the starboard side skin covering of the Viscount near the passenger cabin windows. This piece of skin broke off, and some passengers fell out through the hole. The Viscount flew a short while after separation, then nosed down and fell.
Aftermath
Both aircraft crashed into a residential area of Ankara. The impact killed 87 people on the ground and seriously injured 50 others.
Probable Cause
The official investigation found that the Viscount aircraft had an IFR flight plan but was cruising under VFR conditions when it collided with the C-47. The Viscount struck the C-47 with the lower side of its nose and starboard wing between the door on the port side of the fuselage and the tail group, at an angle of 40° from the left rear and approximately 5 to 10° upward. The Viscount's No. 3 propeller cut off the C-47's port side horizontal stabilizer.
The pilots of the Viscount did not see the C-47 cruising below 7,000 feet on their right-hand side forward. The Viscount, having a higher speed, caught up with the C-47 from the left rear. At the last moment, the Viscount pilots saw the C-47 and attempted to avoid the collision by pulling up, but did not succeed.
Additional findings included: the Viscount pilot made an estimation error of two minutes on the distance between Gölbasi and the Ankara NDB; his radiocommunications did not conform to standard international conversation procedures; the C-47 was returning to Etimesgut under VFR after an instrument training flight; such training flights are scheduled below 7,000 ft with the trainee behind blind flight panels and the instructor able to see outside thoroughly; the flights normally last 1 hour 30 minutes, but the instructor may extend the period if necessary; the C-47 was impacted from the port side rear at 40° and from bottom to top at approximately 5 to 10°; the Viscount's flaps were set at 32° down and gear was down and locked; the collision occurred over the city of Ankara at an altitude less than 7,000 feet.