Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 933
| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | January 13 1969 |
| Summary | Pilot error |
| Site | Los Angeles, USA |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell-Douglas DC-8-62 |
| Aircraft name | Sverre Viking |
| Operator | Scandinavian Airlines |
| Registration | LN-MOO |
| Passengers | 36 |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 15 |
| Injuries | 17 |
| Survivors | 30 |
The Scandinavian Airlines System flight SK-933, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 DC-62, tail number LN-MOO, named "Sverre Viking", of Norwegian registry, crashed in Santa Monica Bay, approximately 6 nautical miles (11 km) west of the Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California, at approximately 1921 P.S.T., January 13, 1969. The aircraft was operating as Flight SK-933 from Seattle, Washington, to Los Angeles, California, following a flight from Copenhagen, Denmark. A scheduled crew change occurred at Seattle for the flight to Los Angeles.
The accident occurred in the waters of Santa Monica Bay while the crew was attempting an instrument approach to Runway O7R at Los Angeles International Airport. Of the 45 persons aboard the aircraft, 3 passengers and 1 cabin attendant drowned; 9 passengers and 2 cabin attendants were never found and presumed dead; 11 passengers and 6 crewmembers including the captain, the co-pilot, and the flight engineer (systems operator) , were injured in varying degrees; and 13 passengers escaped without reported injury. The aircraft was destroyed by impact.
The fuselage broke into three pieces, two of which sank in approximately 350 feet (110 m) of water. The third section including the wings, the forward cabin and the cockpit, floated for about 20 hours before being towed into shallow water where it sank. This section was later recovered and removed from the water.
Source: National Transportation Safety Board, Bureau of Aviation Safety.