Erhalten Sie Zugang zu diesem und mehr als 300000 Büchern ab EUR 5,99 monatlich.
- Herausgeber: Books on Demand
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
Late in the evening of the14th of March 1972 Danish authorities are informed of an air disaster. A Sterling Airways plane heading for Dubai has crashed into a mountain in the Arabian Peninsula killing112 people. For a Danish registered aircraft this is the highest number of casulties ever recorded in an air accident. RADIAL 084° covers the entire sequence of events based on hundreds of newspaper articles, periodicals, investigative reports, interviews and investigations of the crash site. The Danish authorities take more than 3½ years to arrive at a conclusion explaining the causes of the accident and who to blame. RADIAL 084° has collated all the relevant data, including the official version and much more.
Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:
Seitenzahl: 102
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014
Das E-Book (TTS) können Sie hören im Abo „Legimi Premium” in Legimi-Apps auf:
Sammlungen
Ähnliche
This book deals with the now defunct airline Sterling Airways A/S, which operated between 1962 and 1988.
This book has no connection to current airlines in which Sterling forms part of the business name.
It has not been possible to identify the copyright holder of every piece of artwork used in this book. Any infringement of copyright has been unknowing and inadvertent.
Any legitimate claims will be honoured, as if the author had been able to obtain permission in advance.
Indhold
Foreword
Two weeks in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
Flight path from Copenhagen to Colombo and back
Disaster strikes March 14
th
1972
News of the disaster reaches Denmark
The Danish investigative team reaches the disaster site
What happened in the cockpit of NB 296?
Identifying the Bodies
How the local newspapers report the disaster
The possible causes of the disaster
What improvements took place after the disaster?
The story of Sterling Airways A/S 1962 – 1988
The Sud Aviation Caravelle
The Sterling Caravelles
Caravelle – 56 tonnes
Critical Assessment
Criticism from Sweden
The Special Commission of Inquiry
Sterling Airways Damage Control
The Disaster site today
Eye witnesses from Kalba
A history of the United Arab Emirates
Aviation accidents in the United Arab Emirates
Sultanate of Muscat and Oman Air Force
Abu Dhabi Air Force
The Dubai Police Air Wing
It happened again…
Passenger list NB 296
VOR
ILS
GPWS
Literature & Sources
Foreword
Autumn 1989. Thursday. An ordinary day in Dubai. And yet Thursdays really are something special in the Middle East: The weekend starts here.
At the end of my driveway I carefully look both ways. Beware – Nissan Patrols are the most dangerous of them all – the three-door version, with supersized tires, windows tinted black and recklessly driven by young tearaways. All clear! Out the driveway and off we go – immediately tackled front on by an ATV / quad bike doing a wheelie. The aggressive stance of a camel spider comes to mind. Turn left into a one-way street. Check for oncoming traffic! Join the highway. The traffic is heavy but moving at the allowed maximum speed. I’m blinded by the flashing headlights of a tailgating hothead. At last: exit highway, now letting my guard down. Park. And we were just going to a café.
Cut to the trendy venue Café Gerard (to be honest, the only trendy cafe in Dubai till the mid 1990s). To this day, Café Gerard is located in the Magrudy Centre on Jumeirah Beach Road.
There is a mixture of local men dressed in kandura (/ kandūrah), an ankle-length garment with long sleeves commonly worn in the Arab Gulf States, and expatriates, mainly Europeans and Lebanese.
The cafe offers indoor and outdoor seating, brilliant coffee and its famous homemade croissants. Mohammed, Rehda and Hussain, the waiters, instantly recognize most of us. Gerard, the owner, almost a legend – there are incredible stories about how wealthy he is – visits daily to inspect his moneymaking machine and chat to the patrons.
At the dawn of the cell phone, Café Gerard was the place for the locals to show off this must have technical marvel. Cell phones were left on tables to be admired and envied. It is still like that. Though these days, it’s a Blackberry, iPhone or Android.
The guests’ cars are parked outside the cafe. If a guest has recently acquired a new car, he will leave the shipping documents with the barcode taped to the windows. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that this car is new.
The locals are very welcoming and helpful. They are curious about our part of the world and want to know why we have come to Dubai. What do we think of Scandinavia as a holiday destination? Can you drive there? Are there direct flights to Copenhagen? Do you have any more daughters? Etc.
During one of these casual conversations I ask one middle-aged local if he remembers the Sterling Airways disaster in Dubai in 1972? He shakes his head and says I must be mistaken there has never been an air accident in Dubai. The conversation continues, and he checks with other locals. All confirm there has never been an air accident in Dubai.
This is where I start wondering, are the locals just denying reality in an ecstasy of infallibility? I have experienced this infallibility or pride gene in the locals before. It is a kind of conscious pride in being ‘Emiratis’ and all the things the UAE has achieved in its short existence. Or is the truth about the plane crash that, for some reason, it was censored in the local media at the time? I dismiss the thought and it is some years before I come across a number of Danish press cuttings relating to the air accident in the UAE.
My friends from the Dubai Café Gerard are of course correct. The Sterling Airways air disaster in 1972 did not take place in Dubai. The accident happened in the Fujairah Emirate, which is on the East Coast of the UAE. The Fujairah and Dubai Emirates are separated by the Sharjah Emirate and in the 1980s these two emirates were perceived as foreign countries and still are in many respects.
Now, 40 years after the disaster, I have decided to write an account of what happened on the 14th of March 1972 in the Sharqiyin Mountains near Fujairah.
Two weeks in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
- You don’t need an Aladdin’s lamp for your wishes to come true!
This is how the Danish tour operator, Tjæreborg Rejser, praises their holidays in Ceylon in an early 1970s brochure. Superlatives are not used sparingly.
- 1001 Nights conveniently fit into a 16-day vacation. Wide sandy beaches – framed by pink coral reefs – await you. Exciting excursions: Temples, palaces, royal castles, mountains, rivers, botanical gardens, jungles and wildlife reserves inhabited by elephants, buffalo and leopards. Shopping excursions: Colourful markets, carpet dealers and tempting bargains of diamonds, rubies and sapphires or how about a pound of genuine Ceylon tea for a few Danish Kroner…
From a Danish viewpoint Tjæreborg is not exaggerating the attractions of Ceylon as an exotic value for money destination. By the 1970s the two-week adventure holiday in Ceylon has become a very popular destination. 1972 is also the year when Ceylon officially changes its name to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is one and a half times the size of Denmark, but obviously very different, especially the central highlands, which start 50km from the capital Colombo. Sri Lanka offers plenty of experiences that Danes – just as Tjaereborg describes in their brochure – find exotic and amazing.
The old Dutch colonial town of Galle is home to an international crowd of writers and artists. The cultural life is flourishing and the old Dutch fort has deservedly become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Yala National Park is a ‘must see’ with leopards, buffaloes and elephants. Nature has its own story: Beautiful mountains, river valleys and lush jungle vegetation.
The customers, who travel to Ceylon, with Tjæreborg Rejser are usually middle-aged couples celebrating their silver wedding, or an employee awarded the trip as an anniversary gift by their employer. Children are a rarity, but there are usually a few travellers in their twenties.
The holiday is for 17 days. The journey is 15 hours each way – with stopovers in Ankara, Dubai/Bahrain/Sharjah and sometimes also Bombay.
There are several combinations to choose from – one week touring the island plus one week at a beach resort, or two weeks at a beach resort.
Prices start from Danish Kroner 1,985.-.
Trips to Sri Lanka are popular, and many decide to visit the island more than once using Tjæreborg Rejser. The experience of this magical country creates a natural desire to return again and again.
Flight path from Copenhagen to Colombo and back
Whichever route you choose it is a long way from Copenhagen to Colombo. The shortest arc 7973km is equivalent to a fifth of a trip round the world. Even today with globalization, it is still a long trip, and in 1972, 40 years ago, the 17-day holiday was definitely no less of a challenge.
In 1972, Tjæreborg Rejser used the Sterling Airways Sud Aviation SE210 Super Caravelle 10 B3 on the Ceylon route. The crew of six, two pilots, three flight attendants and an aircraft mechanic were at hand to see to the comfort and safety of the passengers.
The first leg of the flight, from Copenhagen to Ankara, takes 3 ½ hours. There is a crew change in Ankara.
The second leg, also approximately 3 ½ hours, takes the plane to Dubai, Bahrain or Sharjah.
From there, the plane continues to Bombay – a 2 ½ hour flight, and finally arrives in Colombo, after another 2 ½ hours.
The brochure from Tjæreborg Rejser also mentions the possibility of a non-stop flight from Dubai/Bahrain/Sharjah to Colombo.
Including the three stopovers mentioned, the whole journey takes 15 hours and 15 minutes. The plane is airborne for approximately 12 hours.
After 15 days in Sri Lanka, the return trip follows the same route with the same stopovers and a change of crew in Ankara.
Looking at the flight path, it is obvious that the Sterling Airways Super Caravelle 10 B3 is not the most suitable aircraft available. Although at the time there are negotiations to purchase the Douglas DC8 aircraft, Sud Aviation SE210 Caravelle and Super Caravelle aircraft were the only jet-powered aircraft in Sterling Airways’ fleet. The Boeing 727–200A first entered operations with Sterling Airways in November 1973, and DC8 aircrafts were not purchased until 1984.
Disaster strikes March 14th 1972
Tuesday the 14th of March is the day of the planned return trip for the people travelling with Tjæreborg Rejser. The travellers staying in various hotels have to get up early and pack. There will be time for breakfast and early lunch before the bus leaves for the Bandaranaike International Airport or Katunayake, about 35km north of Colombo. After a shopping spree in Ceylon the suitcases are filled to the brim and because packing takes time, some opt for brunch.
Esther Fugl-Olsen and Judith Nissen have been close friends for many years. They are both widows in their early sixties. They have travelled together often, but the Ceylon holiday is the pinnacle of their travels. It is different. They are busy packing, but there is still time for a good meal before the bus trip and the wait at the airport. Right now, they are busy talking about their experiences in Ceylon, but they are also looking forward to seeing their daughters again.
The buses are scheduled to leave for the airport shortly after 12 pm. Although the flight’s departure is at 17:20, passengers are required to arrive early at the airport.
In contrast to the outward journey, the attire is now less formal. The more conservative men are still wearing suits, some even have vests. Others are in more colourful robes inspired by the Ceylonese style of brightly coloured clothes. There are locally sourced hats in all shapes and sizes, however, not all noses have been spared the harsh rays of the sun.
Director C.B. Clausen from the “Spare- og Lånekassen for Skærbæk og Omegn”, a bank in South Jutland, has just celebrated his silver wedding. The trip to Ceylon with his wife Hansigne is a gift from the bank. They’ll soon be boarding the plane. It isn’t hard to imagine, that one of the topics of conversation must be the unforgettable experiences of their holiday.
