IAS Cargo Airlines - Incidents and Accidents

Incidents and Accidents

In 1977 IAS Cargo Airlines became indirectly involved in a fatal accident causing the loss of an aircraft bearing its name as part of a hybrid colour scheme. This hybrid colour scheme combined parts of IAS Cargo Airlines' livery with that of Dan-Air Services Ltd, one of the leading wholly privately owned, independent British airlines at the time that was the owner and operator of the crashed aircraft.

The accident itself involved one of Dan-Air's Boeing 707-321C freighters (registration G-BEBP), which IAS Cargo Airlines had operated under a so-called "wet lease" arrangement with Dan-Air, whereby the latter was providing the aircraft as well as flight deck crews and maintenance support under contract to the former. The aforesaid aircraft crashed on 14 May 1977 during the final approach to Lusaka Airport at the end of a non-scheduled all-cargo flight from London Heathrow via Athens and Nairobi when its right-hand horizontal stabiliser separated as a result of metal fatigue, causing a loss of pitch control and killing all six occupants.

Some air accident databases wrongly cite IAS Cargo Airlines as the operator of the aircraft involved in this accident despite Dan-Air being that aircraft's actual operator.

A major industry debate on the maintenance requirements as well as service life limitations of high-time "geriatric" jets ensued as a result of this accident.

(For further details see 1977 Dan-Air Boeing 707 crash.)