1950, Air France Douglas DC-4 Crashed

On this day on June 12, 1950, Air France Douglas DC-4 hit the water and crashed in the Arabian Sea. It was on a plan flight from Saigon to Paris.

DC-4 had departed at 16:05 from a stopover at Karachi for another stopover at Bahrain. At 20:42 DC-4 called Bahrain approach reporting at 6,500 feet (2,000 m) and asking for clearance to descend.

Around at 21:15 the aircraft reported “finals” and the tower gave permission to land on Runway 29. The aircraft hit the water and crashed in the Arabian Sea.

The aircraft was found in 12 feet (4 m) of water 3.3 miles (5.3 km) from the end of the runway. In Douglas DC-4, 8 passengers and 8 crew were on board.

46 of the 52 occupants had been killed and 6 survivors found in the sea. The French writer “François-Jean Armorin” also was on board and he also killed in the crash. Out of 6 survivors, Three were rescued by helicopter after eight hours in the water. Three others were found soon after the accident by a ship.

This crash was the deadliest since the Llandow air disaster, three months earlier, which killed 80. Two days after an Air France Douglas DC-4 on the same flight leg also crashed while on approach to Bahrain at night, killing 40 occupants, and 13 were survived.