De Havilland DH.106 Comet crash, Dec 21, 1961 (27 killed)
De Havilland DH.106 Comet accident on December 21, 1961 near Ankara-Esenboğa Central Anatolia Region, Türkiye with 27 fatalities. Cause: Failure or...
- Date: December 21, 1961
- Aircraft: De Havilland DH.106 Comet
- Location: Ankara-Esenboğa Central Anatolia Region, Türkiye
- Fatalities: 27
- Phase of flight: Takeoff and climb
- Cause: Failure or disturbance of the captain artificial horizon, caused by a loose screw blocking the pitch pointer, which led him to pull the nose steeply up after takeoff and stall.
A British European Airways Comet 4B operating for Cyprus Airways crashed shortly after takeoff from Ankara Esenboğa on a flight to Nicosia. The aircraft climbed far too steeply, stalled and hit the ground, killing 27 of the 34 people on board. Investigators concluded that a disturbance of the captain artificial horizon led him to pull the nose up too far.