ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

Catastrophe of Britannia in Nicosia

On April 20, 1967, a Bristol Britannia 313 aircraft operated by Globe Air crashed into a hill south of Nicosia International Airport in Cyprus, resulting in the deaths of 126 people. The disaster is still regarded as one of the most serious flight accidents in Cyprus and the deadliest incident involving a Bristol Britannia.

The aircraft involved was a 3-year-old Bristol Britannia with the registration number HB-ITB, which had flown over 20,632 hours until the time of the accident. It was on its way from Bangkok to Basel, Switzerland, with stops in Colombo, Bombay, and Cairo. The flight stopped at Colombo in Sri Lanka and then Bombay in India before diverting to Nicosia due to bad weather.

The crew consisted of 43-year-old Michael E. Muller as commander, who had flown over 8,285 hours, including 1,493 on Bristol Britannia; 24-year-old Peter Gippenmeier as second pilot, with over 1,860 hours and 785 of them on the aircraft; M. W. Saunders as flight engineer; H.M. Day as replacement flight engineer; and five flight attendants.

The airliner was carrying 10 crew members and 120 passengers, mostly Germans, British, Dutch, and Italians. The route followed by landing in Cairo but was closed due to bad weather. In accordance with the flight plan, the pilots were supposed to fly to an alternate airfield in Beirut, Lebanon, but instead decided to land in Nicosia.

A storm was present in Nicosia at the time of the accident, and the approach was carried out on runway 32. The first attempt was unsuccessful, and the crew left for a second round. At the second attempt, the aircraft was above its glide path, so the pilots decided to leave again for a third approach, which would have involved a left turn according to the scheme. However, during this turn at low altitude, the airliner crashed into a hill and collapsed almost completely except for the tail.

Only four people survived the crash: one crew member. The disaster was the worst air accident in 1967 and remains one of the most significant incidents involving a Bristol Britannia.