1961 Ndola Transair Sweden DC-6 crash
On 18 September 1961, a DC-6 passenger aircraft of Transair Sweden, operating for the United Nations, crashed near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (present-day Zambia). The crash resulted in the deaths of all people on board, including Dag Hammarskjöld, the second secretary-general of the United Nations, and 15 others. Hammarskjöld had been en route to ceasefire negotiations with Moïse Tshombe during the Congo Crisis. Three official inquiries failed to conclusively determine the cause. Some historians and military experts have criticized the official inquiries, pointing to evidence of foul play that had been omitted from the inquiries.
A DC-6 similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 18 September 1961 |
| Summary | Crashed to the ground for disputed reasons: pilot error or external attack |
| Site | 15 km (9.3 mi) W of Ndola Airport (NLA) Zambia 12°58′31″S 28°31′22″E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Douglas DC-6B |
| Aircraft name | Albertina |
| Operator | Transair Sweden for the United Nations |
| Registration | SE-BDY |
| Flight origin | Elisabethville Airport Congo |
| Stopover | Léopoldville-N'Djili Airport (FIH/FZAA), Congo |
| Destination | Ndola Airport (NLA/FLND), Northern Rhodesia |
| Occupants | 16 |
| Passengers | 11 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 16 |
| Survivors | 0 (initially, 1) |
Hammarskjöld's death caused a succession crisis at the United Nations when the Security Council was tasked with selecting his successor.