NLM Flight 627
 ZB-DVH, the aircraft involved in the bombing | |
| Bombing | |
|---|---|
| Date | February 2, 1979 |
| Summary | Terrorist bombing causing loss of control |
| Site | Lingbury, Satavia |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Vickers Viscount 813 |
| Operator | NLM |
| Registration | ZB-DVH |
| Flight origin | Pietersburg International Airport, Pietersburg, Nuvania |
| Destination | Port Hope-O'Connell International Airport, Port Hope, Satavia |
| Occupants | 59 |
| Passengers | 54 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 59 |
| Survivors | 0 |
NLM Flight 627 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Nuvanian flag carrier NLM between Pietersburg International Airport near Pietersburg, Nuvania, and Port Hope-O'Connell International Airport near Port Hope, Satavia that crashed near the town of Lingbury on February 2, 1979. All 59 passengers and crew onboard the aircraft were killed onboard the Vickers Viscount 813.
An investigation into the crash found that the aircraft was brought down by a bomb onboard which severed the control lines for the tail and rear flaps, causing the aircraft to enter into an uncontrollable dive. Occurring during the Satavian Crisis, the crash prompted a significant increase in involvement from both Nuvania and the Organisation of Asterian Nations (OAN), which intervened in 1979 partly because of the crash, the blame for the accident being placed on far-right paramilitaries operating in and from Satavia.
The crash remains shrouded in controversy and conspiracy theories alleging a coverup by the airline over negligent maintenance practices, which had been uncovered following the loss of Flight 125, also operated by another Vickers Viscount, in September 1978, in addition to theories of a false flag operation by the Nuvanian or Satavian government, among others.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a Vickers Viscount 813 registered ZB-DVH, delivered to the airline on January 27, 1965, making the aircraft 14 years old at the time of the accident. The aircraft had completed approximately 14,978 flight hours prior to the crash. NLM had performed significant major maintenance on the aircraft in 1977, when it replaced the two lower booms on the inner wing as per required maintenance by the manufacturer and by the Civil Aviation Bureau (CAB), among other significant maintenance of the aircraft.
This maintenance has become the focus of proponents of alternate theories to the loss of Flight 627, as the loss of Flight 125 the year prior to this crash had later been determined to have been caused by improper replacement of the pins of the flaps on the port wing, causing the aircraft to enter into an unrecoverable dive.
Crew
Flight 627 was piloted by Captain Stephen Harris, 43, an experienced pilot with NLM who had just over 22,000 hours, including nearly 9,000 piloting the Vickers Viscount. First Officer William Ackerman, 39, was also experienced, with just over 12,000 hours in total, including approximately 4,908 on the Viscount. Both pilots were type certified. They were accompanied by Flight Engineer Martin Pasch, 37, who had another 11,000 flight hours as well as type certification on the Viscount.
In addition to the flight crew, there were two stewardesses aboard the aircraft; Dina van den Heever, 27, and Marieke Weiss, 28.
Flight
Flight 627 was the number NLM used for its off-peak services, usually for night flights operating between Pietersburg and Port Hope. As February 2, 1979 was a Friday, the flight would be operated as the last of the day between the two cities.
Flight 627 departed Pietersburg International Airport at 22:05 NST for the 650 kilometre flight to Port Hope-O'Connell International Airport, the flight expecting to take just over an hour. Onboard ZB-DVH that night were 54 passengers in addition to the five crew. Of the passengers, 32 were Satavians, 21 were Nuvanians, and one Belmontese passenger who had missed an earlier flight. Conditions over western Nuvania and eastern Satavia were good, with scattered clouds, although the crew expected a bit of turbulence from the x Mountains as they flew over them.
At 22:26 NST, 21 minutes into the flight, Flight 627 was handed over to Adamstown Air Traffic Control who would monitor the aircraft as it flew over eastern Satavia. Captain Harris made contact with Adamstown tower, informed them of their bearing, speed, and altitude.
Accident
At 22:52 NST, a bomb located in the aft cargo hold of ZB-DVH exploded, blowing a hole in the fuselage and severing the hydraulic lines between the cockpit and the tail of the aircraft, rendering the elevators and the tail flaps useless. The explosion was picked up on the voice recorder, which prompted Captain Harris to exclaim "what the fuck was that?" As the loss of control became apparent, both pilots attempted to keep the aircraft level, with First Officer Ackerman contacting Adamstown tower, making a mayday call before the aircraft crashed into mountainous terrain near the town of Lingbury, killing all onboard instantly.
The on-duty controller at Adamstown notified the tower at O'Connel International that Flight 627 had made a mayday call and disappeared from radar within the northernmost part of the airspace controlled by O'Connell Air Traffic Control (ATC). O'Connell notified the Satavian Air Force who would mount a search for the aircraft at dawn due to the terrain of the area. In addition, the Satavian Transport Safety Agency (STSA) was notified of the disappearance, as was the Civil Aviation Bureau in Nuvania.
First responders from the town, including volunteer firefighters and paramedics, arrived on scene and confirmed to the first military personnel who had been dispatched from Port Hope via helicopter, that no one had survived the crash. Dozens more personnel arrived from surrounding areas, and began the recovery of the bodies and other human remains from the site prior to the investigation beginning.
Investigation
Investigators from the STSA and CAB arrived at site of the crash on the afternoon of February 3, and began the search for the cockpit voice and flight data recorders, while also looking for additional clues to how Flight 627 crashed. On the same day, the on-duty aircraft controller at x was interviewed, and a recording of the interactions between air traffic control and Flight 627 were handed over to Nuvanian authorities.
Initial focus on the cause of the crash went to whether or not the aircraft had experienced structural failures, which was at the time the suspected cause of the demise of Flight 125 over the South Asterian Range in September 1978, and likely suspected to be the cause of the disappearance and crash of Flight 106 in 1967. Interviews with the on-duty air traffic controller indicated potential structural failure, as the crew had announced a mayday call before the aircraft disappeared from radar. A search for potential missing parts of the aircraft began on February 4 over an area significantly wider than the original search area for the aircraft.
Investigators found difficulties in getting access to different areas of the country owing to significant civil conflict and associated security risks, and as such were reliant on the Satavian Armed Forces to search and retrieve any potential material from the aircraft. Ray Heindrich, an investigator with the CAB assigned to the crash of Flight 627, said in an interview with Die Vrystaat in 2009 on the 30th anniversary of the crash, said that despite the ongoing conflict, the Satavian authorities were eager to use military resources which were needed elsewhere.
Interviews with those that lived in the area began soon after investigators arrived on the scene, with witnesses describing seeing the aircraft plummeting from the sky with a trail of fire behind it. Initially the investigators were led to believe that some sort of catastrophic structural failure was responsible, although this was later explained once the cargo door had been found and tested.
On February 5, the flight data and cockpit voice recorders were found and extracted from the wreckage of the aircraft, and were taken to Pietersburg for analysis. Investigators continued to focus on the potential for Flight 627 to have been brought down by structural failure, and obtained ZB-DVH's maintenance records from NLM on February 4. The maintenance records of the aircraft outlined a number of regular overhauls of the aircraft and parts replacements in line with recommended manufacturer and CAB approved guidelines. Mentioned in the records included a recent replacement of both lower wing booms of ZB-DVH in November 1977, and this lead investigators to consider the possibility of an improper replacement being installed during maintenance. Interviews were conducted with maintenance workers who had replaced the lower wing booms on ZB-DVH, while the booms themselves were located among the wreckage. After six days, fragments of both booms were found among the wreckage of Flight 627, leading investigators to rule out the wing booms as a cause of the crash.
On February 12, pieces of the fuselage from ZB-DVH were found six kilometres north of the crash site. These included pieces from the lower portion of the fuselage, and a buckled cargo door. According to the official joint report, the cargo door had been blown open by a force which buckled the door outwards, damaging the hinges to the point where the door likely sheared off as Flight 627 dived into the ground, as parts of the hinges were still attached to the door. Other smaller pieces of fuselage found nearby displayed scorch marks, and alongside the door, these were sent to Pietersburg for further testing, which confirmed the presence of explosive residue on February 20.
The flight data and cockpit voice recorders were decoded and the information and transcripts made available to the CAB and STSA, which further supported the theory that Flight 627 was brought down by a bomb onboard. Officially, neither the CAB or STSA could positively confirm what kind of explosive compound had been used to bomb Flight 627, other than some sort of explosive was used.
In December 1979, the CAB and STSA issued their findings, stating that Flight 627 had been brought down by an "unknown non-state actor". While the CAB did not name a potential group that was responsible for the bombing, Foreign Minister Edgar de Villiers stated that "unscrupulous elements of the rebel movement in Satavia" were behind the attack. Parts of the report, including most of the cockpit transcript and additional analysis provided by the Satavian Surveillance, Policing & Bureau of Investigations (SSPBI) and the National Security Bureau (NSB), were classified with no formal release date. Furthermore, additional reports, including the foresnics report identifying the explosive used to bring Flight 627 down, were also classified.
Aftermath
Following the announcement of the findings of the CAB and STSA, the Nuvanian and Satavian governments took their case to the Organisation of Asterian Nations (OAN) in Astoria for a more widespread involvement in the civil conflict in Satavia, the Nuvanian delegation stating that Nuvania would "take a much more hard line stance with or without OAN approval". The bombing, which had prompted widespread condemnation from OAN members, saw a concerted effort to reign in the activities of right-wing paramilitaries in Satavia.
The OAN approved an increase to the amount of soldiers and other military personnel as well as allowing a limited campaign of air strikes flown by the Nuvanian Air Force on targets within Satavia over two weeks in what became known as Operation Granular, severely weakening the capabilities of the far right paramilitaries. It also saw the government of P.K Burger significantly increase Nuvanian involvement in the Satavian Crisis, including the deployment of soldiers and other military personnel to the island in January 1980.
As a result of the accident, NLM introduced a policy in January 1980 which prohibited the airline from operating flights into and out of conflict zones, a policy which the airline still follows today.
Controversies
The release of the report has generated a significant amount of controversy in Nuvania and Satavia, particularly among the political fringes of both countries' political societies. Numerous opinion pieces and news articles have been published on the discrepancies and secretive nature regarding aspects of the report, including the classified nature of both the cockpit transcript and forensic report. Many have pointed to these pieces of information being classified as being a coverup for sinister state and non-state activities, including the bombing being a false flag attack.
Responsibility
One of the controversies of the report into the crash of Flight 627 surrounds the lack of a claim of responsibility by a terrorist group or organisation, of which numerous ones were in operation in Asteria Inferior at the time of the crash. Speculation as to which organisation, if any, had planted the bomb on the aircraft, was widespread in the months and years following the release of the report.
Common theories state that the bomb was placed by a member, or an agent of, De Volksmilitie, the largest of the right-wing paramilitaries operating in Satavia at the time of the crash. The Volksmilitie had participated in a number of bombings since the Satavian Crisis began in 1976. These bombings occurred frequently enough that the Satavian government and security forces assigned blame to the Volksmilitie or other right wing paramilitaries in almost all instances, including bombings in which no group had claimed responsibility.
Conspiracy Theories
A number of conspiracy theories have arisen from the release of the report. These range from claiming that the bombing was used as a false flag attack to justify military intervention in Satavia, to claims that NLM falsified information in order to cover up negligence within the airline.
False Flag and other government involvement
Claims that the airliner had been brought down by a false flag attack have been made since the report was first published. On July 22, 1980, an article surfaced in Vanguard, a small newspaper loosely associated with the Democratic Action Party (DAP) alleged that Flight 627 had been targeted by the NSB in order to bring about a crackdown on leftist political organisations in Nuvania.
A similar theory appeared in the far-right publication Skildwag which alledged that the Satavian Prime Minister at the time, Eric Edwards, had personally ordered the SSPBI to place a bomb inside the aircraft to bring about a Nuvanian, and wider OAN, intervention into the conflict. This theory gained considerable amount of publicity within far right political organisations both in Nuvania and Satavia, with articles claiming evidence for this theory still appearing in a number of far right publications and on far right websites.
In 2013, an article on far right Satavian website VDH Nieuws appeared claiming that a former Satavian military officer, known only as Mister Peeters, was given instructions to shoot down Flight 627 as part of a wider plot by the government of Eric Edwards to garner wider support for his government and bring about a military intervention. The article was widely circulated among conspiracy websites and throughout conservative social media, the article eventually making national news in Satavia and Nuvania. Satavian Prime Minister Johan de Vilock dismissed it as "nothing but an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory" and both candidates for Chief Minister also dismissed the article during a televised debate on NBC/NUK in the campaign for the 2013 general election.
1989 Review interview and NLM coverup allegations
On January 4, 1989, a few weeks before the tenth anniversary of the bombing, Estmerish-language current affairs show Review aired an exclusive interview with an unidentified man who had presented credentials as a former NLM maintenance worker who claimed to have worked on the aircraft involved in the months leading up to February 1979. According to the man, NLM had ignored manufacturer guidelines for the replacement of the lower inner wing boom of both wings, which had required them to be replaced around 11,000 hours, with the lower inner wing booms on ZB-DVH having been in use for "at least 12,000 hours". The man alleged that NLM had forged the maintenance documents that they presented to the CAB investigators, and that the original documents were destroyed, as the airline did not want the public to know it had unsafe maintenance practices.
The interview caused a sensation among the Nuvanian and Satavian public, and increased scrutiny came onto NLM, which had been restructured and privatised under a series of economic reforms and state owned enterprise selloffs in 1983 by then Chief Minister Johnathan Keaton. After the interview, numerous people who claimed to have been former employees of NLM who were laid off during the restructuring period came forwards with new claims about negligence and cost cutting measures in the airline. The number of claims was so significant that a commission of inquiry was launched by the Keaton government into the claims made in April 1989. This commission did not have widespread political support, and was shut down by the government of David van Deventer in January 1992, creating further conspiracies. It was later revealed in 1994 that the man who had been interviewed was a con artist, who accepted a payment of G125,500 ($49,409 in 1989 dollars) from NBC/NUK to be interviewed, the story broken by another NBC/NUK journalist who also revealed the man had used forged credentials to fool NBC/NUK staff.
Similar theories have cited the crash of Flight 125 as being a precursor to Flight 627 as the crash of that flight had been caused by faulty maintenance, was also flying over a mountainous area, and was also operated by a Vickers Viscount. The similarities between the two crashes have led to many suspecting that NLM had serious deficiencies in its maintenance process, as Flight 125's crash was found to be caused by improper maintenance. Similar claims were also made about Flight 685, which crashed into the south eastern Vehemens Ocean in November 1987, killing 244 passengers and crew.
In June 2018, a longform article appeared on independent Nuvanian news website The Bureau which stated that throughout NLM's history, multiple aircraft have fallen from the sky during flight, many of which had no apparent reason for doing so. The article alleged that of the six crashes involving in-flight breakups or otherwise mechanical faults, three of them were directly attributed to structural failure. The article alleged that NLM had a long history of improper or otherwise negligent aircraft maintenance which lead to the six crashes, including Flight 627. Evidence to support this included the presence of a loud boom on the cockpit voice recorder and evidence of an almost instantaneous loss of control. It also stated that maintenance records indicated that the lower inner wing booms had been replaced, something which could either have not occurred at all, or had occurred improperly, thus rendering them faulty. The descriptions of witnesses to the crash of Flight 627 pointed towards structural failure, and not a bomb.
NLM issued a cease and desist notice through the District Court in Pietersburg to have the article taken down, which The Bureau refused. This was followed by a lawsuit from NLM, alleging that the article had caused the company loss of profits and damaged its reputation. However, the lawsuit was dismissed as NLM could not prove either the loss of profits or the negative impact on the airline's reputation.
See Also
- NLM Flight 171 - a crash of a Vickers Viking that disintegrated after encountering strong convective activity in March 1953.
- NLM Flight 603 - the crash of a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 into the West Arucian Sea in April 1954, blamed on manufacturing defects.
- NLM Flight 106 - a crash that occurred in March 1967 in which investigators could not determine the cause, with structural failure being one of the most likely causes.
- NLM Flight 125 - a crash that occurred nearly five months before the crash of Flight 627 under similar circumstances.
- NLM Flight 685 - the crash of a Boeing 747-200B into the south eastern Vehemens Ocean owing to faulty installation of electrical wiring above the cockpit.