On 18 April 1972, the aircraft burst into flames and crashed while taking off from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, killing 43 out of 107 occupants on board.

[1] The investigation, led by the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Administration, concluded that the crash was caused by partial loss of braking effort due to incorrect re-assembly of the braking system, leading to the aircraft's inability to stop within the remaining runway distance.

Crew members properly executed the necessary procedure to abort the take-off, however the braking failure caused the aircraft to overrun the runway.

According to The New York Times, many of the passengers were children of British nationalities who were returning from Easter vacation.

The pilots were accompanied by Navigating Officer Frank MacNabb (45) and Flight Engineer Brian Twist (34).

[4] While the aircraft was on the ramp, Flight Engineer Twist noticed that hydraulic fluid had been leaking from the No.1 rear main wheel.

The right nose wheel had burst after striking a steel jacking pad from a Cessna 185, which had departed earlier from the airport.

The flight crew decided to abort the take-off, activated the thrust reverser and applied brakes to stop the aircraft.

The left outer wing then struck a steel lattice tower, rupturing the fuel lines and causing the aircraft to burst into flames.

The aircraft then slammed onto the ground, breaking up the fuselage before finally coming to rest and catching fire.

[4][6] The fire truck which had been dispatched earlier to clear dead birds from the runway was the first to arrive at the crash site.

[4] In the aftermath of the accident, 20 people had to be taken to the Addis Ababa Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, of whom 16 were critically wounded.

The stressful and alarming situation at hand caused the flight crew to immediately presume that the aircraft was in non-airworthy condition and therefore decided to abandon the take-off.

[4] Their quick decision was also appropriate since the length of the runway combined with the aircraft's speed at the time was sufficient for a safe rejected take-off.

The nose wheel failure occurred approximately 2,158 meters from the beginning of the runway and brakes were immediately applied by the flight crew.

As the anti-skid unit was applied by the flight crew, the brake pressure was unable to recover at a sufficient pace.

[4] The Ethiopian Civil Aviation Administration concluded the cause of the accident with the following: The accident was due to a partial loss of braking effort arising from incorrect re-assembly of part of the braking system, as a result of which the aircraft could not be stopped within the emergency distance remaining following a properly executed abandoned take-off procedure[4]