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1974 Francistown Wenela Air Services Douglas DC-4 crash

The 1974 Francistown Wenela Air Services Douglas DC-4 crash occurred on April 4, 1974. On this day, a Douglas DC-4 operated by Wenela Air Services, conducting an international scheduled flight from Francistown Airport in Botswana to Chileka Airport in Malawi, was forced to make an emergency landing due to engine failure, resulting in the death of 78 out of 84 people on board. This incident remains the deadliest aviation accident in Botswana and the third deadliest involving a Douglas DC-4.

1974 Francistown Wenela Air Services Douglas DC-4 crash
A Douglas DC-4 of South African Airways
Forced landing due to engine failure
DateApril 4, 1974 (1974-04-04)
Sitenear Francistown, Botswana
Aircraft
Aircraft typeDouglas DC-4
OperatorWenela Air Services
RegistrationA2-ZER
Flight originFrancistown Airport, Botswana
DestinationChileka Airport, Malawi
Occupants84
Passengers80
Crew4
Fatalities78
Injuries6
Survivors6

Aircraft

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The aircraft was the 240th Douglas DC-4 off the production line. The machine, with the serial number 27242, was assembled in 1944 as the military version C-54B-20-DO at the Douglas Aircraft Company factory in Santa Monica, California, and subsequently delivered to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) with the military serial number 44-9016. The aircraft was intended for the Republic of China Air Force, where it was to operate under the military registration 5405. After World War II, the machine was categorized as surplus by the USAAF and decommissioned. The Douglas Aircraft Company purchased the machine on December 13, 1945, and converted it to a civilian DC-4. On April 2, 1946, the machine was sold to Delta Air Lines, where it operated under the aircraft registration N37475 with the fleet number 75. The aircraft was taken out of service in February 1953. On February 27, 1953, the machine was acquired by Pacific Northern Airlines from Portland, Oregon, and used for flights in Alaska. In 1955, it was sold to Overseas National Airways, where it operated under the registration N410NA and the name Loma Dan until June 1959. In the month of its decommissioning, it was sold to the Witwatersrand Native Labour Association (WNLA), a mining company managing gold mines in South Africa, also known as Wenela. The company was involved in recruiting migrant workers and owned a fleet of buses and aircraft stationed in all the countries of Southern Africa. The machine first received the South African registration ZS-CLN, which was later changed to VP-YST (Wenela Air Services Rhodesia) and finally to A2-ZER (Wenela Air Services Botswana). The four-engine long-range aircraft was equipped with four radial engines of the type Pratt & Whitney R-2000-2SD-13G Twin Wasp.

Passengers and crew

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At the time of the accident, there were 80 passengers and four crew members on board. Most of the passengers were employees of the South African mining company, returning home.

Accident sequence

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The accident occurred at 02:35 local time. Shortly after taking off from Gaborone Airport, the aircraft experienced misfires and ignition failures, leading to a continuous descent. The pilots were unable to gain a safe altitude due to these issues, causing the DC-4 to clip treetops and crash to the ground 3 600 meters past the runway's end after a stall.

Cause

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It was determined that the aircraft had been partially misfueled. Ground personnel mistakenly filled one of the fuel tanks intended for aviation gasoline (Avgas) with kerosene. As a result, the fuel the aircraft was loaded with was contaminated by 25 to 30 percent.

References

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