On 26 October 1952, Flight 115 ran off the runway on takeoff at Ciampino Airport in Rome but all 43 on board survived.

In 1949 the de Havilland Comet was the first passenger jet to fly and revenue service began in May of 1952, 6 months before the accident.

35 people boarded the plane heading to Cairo with 2 captains, 1 engineer and 1 navigator with 4 cabin crew.

As the airplane reached an appropriate height in the air the captain called for the landing gear to be raised but the left wing suddenly dropped however control was quickly regained.

The after-accident report noted that the manufacturer's handbook included a caution in its description of the take off procedure, saying, "... care should be taken not to overdo [the nose up] with a consequent poor acceleration.