ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 17751
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| Date: | Thursday 6 May 1976 |
| Time: | c. 14:40 LT |
| Type: |  Piaggio P.166S Albatross |
| Owner/operator: | South African Air Force (SAAF) |
| Registration: | 894 |
| MSN: | 456 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Atlantic Ocean, off Dassen Island -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | FAYP (Ysterplaat) |
| FAYP (Ysterplaat) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
The South African Air Force used Piaggio P166S Albatross aircraft in the maritime reconnaissance roll from 1969 to 1993. During one such patrol, on May 6, 1976 a P166, tail number 894, crewed by Major R.C. Carter and Captain G.M. Rossouw crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Dassen Island situated off the west coast, north of Cape Town. At 2:35pm they reported all being well on board. Four minutes later, at 2:39pm a mayday call "..we are 40 miles from .." was received from the aircraft. Moments later the aircraft disappeared from radar and an extensive search was launched. A Shackleton and an Albatross conducted the aerial search while surface assistance was received from the SAS President Steyn, SAS Pretoria, SAS Johannesburg as well as two crash boats from Langebaan. Apart from a wing tip tank and a dinghy, the aircraft was not found and the search was called off.
On June 15, 1976 and August 17, 1976 pictures were published in a local newspaper, the Cape Argus, that were sent in by a fisherman claiming to have taken them from a small boat close to where the P166 was believed to have crashed. The police and the SAAF investigated these pictures and the SAAF reported that the pictures looked genuine. However, they were later thought to be a hoax.
Many years later an I&J fishing trawler trawled up a large section of the aircraft which was brought ashore at Saldanha.
Sources:
http://www.saairforce.co.za
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-May-2008 05:40 | Topaz | Added |
| 12-May-2008 17:27 | Topaz | Updated |
| 05-Jul-2009 21:02 | Topaz | Updated |
| 13-Feb-2010 10:11 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 16-Apr-2011 09:43 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative] |
| 20-Dec-2012 14:39 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Narrative] |
| 11-Apr-2013 18:33 | TB | Updated [Time, Operator, Narrative] |
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