The 1958 Dan-Air Avro York crash was a fatal accident involving an Avro York cargo aircraft operated by Dan Air Services Limited on a non-scheduled international all-cargo service between Karachi, Pakistan, and New Delhi, India. The aircraft crashed on 25 May 1958 during a forced landing at Gurgaon, Haryana, India, after an engine had caught fire en route from Karachi to Delhi. Four of the five occupants of the aircraft were killed.[1][2][3]

1958 Dan-Air Avro York crash

An Avro York similar to the accident aircraft
Accident
Date	25 May 1958
Summary	Engine failure and on-board fire
Site	Near Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Avro York
Operator	Dan-Air
Registration	G-AMUV
Flight origin	Karachi, Pakistan
Destination	New Delhi, India
Passengers	0
Crew	5
Fatalities	4
Injuries	0
Survivors	1

The aircraft

The aircraft, operated by Dan Air Services Ltd, was an Avro 685 York (registered in the United Kingdom as G-AMUV) that had its first flight in 1946.[2] The York had been delivered to the Royal Air Force in February 1946, it was withdrawn from use and sold as a civilian aircraft in 1952.

Accident

Following the aircraft's departure from Karachi Airport in Pakistan's Sindh province, an in-flight fire developed en route to Delhi. This necessitated an immediate forced landing on rough terrain near Gurgaon in the Indian state of Haryana, resulting in the aircraft's break-up and a post-crash fire.[2] Among the crew of five, the radio operator was the sole survivor. This crash was Dan-Air's first fatal accident.[1]

Cause

The subsequent investigation established a mid-air fire as a consequence of an internal failure of the aircraft's no. 1 engine as the accident's probable cause.

References