The early 60s and a United Nations DC-6 is carrying the UN Secretary Dag Hammarskjold on a secret roundabout flight to a small airport in the newly formed Republic of Congo. One province, Katanga, declared its independence from the Congo and, as so often happens when colonial forces withdraw, a violent civil war broke out. There are mercenaries all over the place, not yet called terrorists, and tribal loyalties are causing great destruction and many deaths. That's why the flight has been kept secret from everyone.
The airplane is going to land at Ndola, a small airport with a minimum of facilities. It's an important mission. If Hammarskjold can resolve the conflict and unite the Congo, it will save a great deal of blood. The guy had guts.
Radio contact with the plane is lost and the next morning responders find the charred remains of the DC-6 15 kilometers from the airport. The loss of Hammarskjold and his delegation made headlines around the world. President Kennedy made a public announcement of regret and sympathy.
The crash investigators -- astonishingly meticulous as always -- examine the wreckage and rule out explosion, engine failure, and incorrect altimeter settings as possible causes. But the medical examiners discover a multitude of bullets in some of the dozen or so passengers. The bullets have no rifling. The conclusion is that that the weapons carried by the security officers held bullets that were so heated by the fierce flames that they exploded without being fired and were propelled into nearby bodies.
So there was no foul play, no missiles or ground fire or interception by air. The pilots apparently flew into the ground because of pilot error. They weren't paying attention to their altitude.
However, in 2011, a book was published outlining a conspiracy by the Katanga rebels. The theory was that the rebels had hired a Belgian pilot to shoot down the DC-6 and eyewitnesses supported the notion of a second airplane. This prompted authorities to take a closer look at the accident. What they discovered was that the two pilots had been on the go for 17 hours and were just finishing a 6-hour flight, so they were fatigued. It was also discovered that the hill they flew into was not on their charts. As far as the pilots knew, they were not too low for the terrain. It was just an accident. Accidents happen on airplanes but this one was extremely important because it caused the death of a highly respected Secretary General of the United Nations.
Hammarskjold was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously.
The airplane is going to land at Ndola, a small airport with a minimum of facilities. It's an important mission. If Hammarskjold can resolve the conflict and unite the Congo, it will save a great deal of blood. The guy had guts.
Radio contact with the plane is lost and the next morning responders find the charred remains of the DC-6 15 kilometers from the airport. The loss of Hammarskjold and his delegation made headlines around the world. President Kennedy made a public announcement of regret and sympathy.
The crash investigators -- astonishingly meticulous as always -- examine the wreckage and rule out explosion, engine failure, and incorrect altimeter settings as possible causes. But the medical examiners discover a multitude of bullets in some of the dozen or so passengers. The bullets have no rifling. The conclusion is that that the weapons carried by the security officers held bullets that were so heated by the fierce flames that they exploded without being fired and were propelled into nearby bodies.
So there was no foul play, no missiles or ground fire or interception by air. The pilots apparently flew into the ground because of pilot error. They weren't paying attention to their altitude.
However, in 2011, a book was published outlining a conspiracy by the Katanga rebels. The theory was that the rebels had hired a Belgian pilot to shoot down the DC-6 and eyewitnesses supported the notion of a second airplane. This prompted authorities to take a closer look at the accident. What they discovered was that the two pilots had been on the go for 17 hours and were just finishing a 6-hour flight, so they were fatigued. It was also discovered that the hill they flew into was not on their charts. As far as the pilots knew, they were not too low for the terrain. It was just an accident. Accidents happen on airplanes but this one was extremely important because it caused the death of a highly respected Secretary General of the United Nations.
Hammarskjold was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously.
