50 Years ago today: On 2 December 1970 a Cargolux Canadair CL-44 crashed into farmhouses near Dakha, Bangladesh, killing all 4 occupants and 4 on the ground.
| Date: | Wednesday 2 December 1970 |
| Time: | ca 10:00 GMT |
| Type: | Canadair CL-44J |
| Operator: | Cargolux |
| Registration: | TF-LLG |
| C/n / msn: | 36 |
| First flight: | 1964-03-25 (6 years 8 months) |
| Engines: | 4 Rolls-Royce Tyne 515 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4 |
| Ground casualties: | Fatalities: 3 |
| Aircraft damage: | Damaged beyond repair |
| Location: | 10 km (6.3 mls) NW of Dhaka-Tejgaon Airport (DAC) ( |
| Phase: | Approach (APR) |
| Nature: | Cargo |
| Departure airport: | Tehran-Mehrabad Airport (THR/OIII), Iran |
| Destination airport: | Dhaka-Tejgaon Airport (DAC/VGTJ), Bangladesh |
Narrative:
The Canadair CL-44J transport plane departed Luxemburg Airport at 14:00 GMT on December 1 and flew to Hamburg in Germany were it was loaded with 27,5 tons of child food. These Swiss Red Cross supplies were to be flown to Dhaka, East-Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to help victims of floodings.
A refueling stop was made in Tehran, Iran, were it left the following day at 01:30 GMT. About 10:00 GMT, the pilot lost control of the airplane while on approach to Dhaka-Tejgaon Airport. The CL-44 crashed into farmhouses. Three persons on the ground were killed, along with the entire crew of four.
It appeared that the hydraulic gust lock system activated in flight, causing the controls to lock. It was speculated that hydraulic back pressure had built up caused by a malfunctioning switch valve when hydraulics where armed on descend.
