SkyStef's aviation page
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SkyStef's aviation page |
| 20/11/59 | - | Boeing | Rolled out at Renton |
| 31/12/59 | - | - | Made its first flight from Renton |
| 04/01/60 | - | Sabena | Handed over at Seattle |
| 11/01/60 | OO-SJB | - | Registered with Belgian CoA 1289 |
| 17/01/60 | - | - | Ferried to Brussels |
| 15/02/60 | - | - | Inaugurated Brussels-Rome-Leopoldsville-Johannesburg service |
| 02/04/60 | - | - | Inaugurated Brussels-Leopoldsville-Elizabethville-Johannesburg service |
| 09/07/60 | - | - | Participated Congo airlift (together with SJA, SJC, SJD and SJE: 62 flights with average of 250 pax) |
| 11/01/61 | - | - | Overhaul on which the tail was modified |
| 09/02/61 | - | - | Returned to service |
| 15/02/61 | - | - | Crashed at Berg (Kampenhout) 1005 local time on approach to Brussels from Idlewild (flight SN548). Went into a steep dive after stalling and exploded on the ground. 61 pax, 11 crew and 1 chicory farmer (Théo Delaet) on the ground died instantly. One farmer suffered severe burnings and lost a leg. Crew did consist of: captain Louis Lambrechts, co pilot Jean Roy, navigator Jean-Marie Kindt, flight engineer Leon Eduare, flight attendants Paul Devos, Marcel De Maeyer, Pierre Franc Vandenbussche, Robert Valeppe, Henry Verminnen, Jaqueline Trullemans and Jacqueline Rombaut. Official probable cause was material failure on the flights controls. Most plausible hypothesis was a malfunction of the horizontal stabilizer adjusting mechanism permitting it to run to a 10.5deg nose-up position. TAT 3037 hrs. |
| 00/02/61 | - | - | Remains of the plane were carried to Melsbroek |
| 15/03/61 | - | - | Canx from register |
| 10/02/01 | - | - | Memorial stone was unveiled on the site of the crash at the Lemmekenstraat, Berg-Kampenhout. Inscription says: "Hier stortte op 15 februari 1961 een Boeing 707 van SABENA neer. Wij herdenken de 73 slachtoffers". Freely translated it means: "At this spot, on February 15 1961, a B707 of SABENA went down. We commemorate the 73 victims". |
| 15/02/21 | - | - | Memorial monument was unveiled on the 60th anniversary of the crash on the same site at the Lemmekenstraat, Berg-Kampenhout. |
Memorial stone photographed on June 9 2005 (photo Skystef)
Memorial monument photographed on February 23 2022 (photo Skystef)
Memorial monument photographed on February 23 2022 (photo Skystef)
Memorial monument photographed on September 4 2022 (photo Skystef)
| Following sources are acknowledged. Individual Aircraft History of the Boeing 707 (Buchair USA) The Boeing 707-720 and C-135 (Air-Britain Publication) Airliners in Belgium - BCARG special 1 Boeing 707 Intercontinental (Aviation Society of Antwerp vzw) World Directory of Airliner Crashes (PSL) Belgian Civil Aircraft since 1920 (MCP) Chronicle of Aviation (JLIP) Chronique de l'Aviation (JLIP) Jet Airliner Production List (TAHS) JP Airline Fleets (Buchair) Sabena 70 jaar luchtvaartpionier Magazines: Aviation Letter, Scramble, Luftfahrt Journal, Jetstream, Carnets de Vol, Onze/Notre Sabena Het Laatste Nieuws Various text and photo material to be found on the internet. Frans Van Humbeek for checking info on the tail modifications (not modified) which was afterwards corrected by photo proof via Per Overgaard (tail was modified).
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