Cyprus Airways Flight 284 was a

de Havilland Comet The de Havilland DH.106 Comet is the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It features an aerodynamically clean design with four ...

that exploded during a flight to

Nicosia International Airport Nicosia International Airport (, ) is a largely disused airport located west of the Cypriot capital city of Nicosia in the Lakatamia suburb. It was originally the main airport for the island, but commercial activity ceased following the Turkish ...

on 12 October 1967 after a bomb was detonated in the cabin. The airliner crashed in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and all 66 passengers and crew members on board were killed.

Aircraft

The aircraft was a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 4B, registration G-ARCO, the 49th Comet 4 built. It had been owned and operated by

British European Airways British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The ...

(BEA) since it was built in 1961.

Flight

BEA was a shareholder in

Cyprus Airways Cyprus Airways ( Greek: Κυπριακές Αερογραμμές) is the flag carrier of Cyprus, based at Larnaca International Airport. It commenced operations on 1 June 2017. It is the largest airline in Cyprus and it has flights for all ar ...

, and the two airlines had an agreement for all of Cyprus Airways' jet services to be operated by BEA Comets. The night before the crash, the aircraft departed from

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingd ...

Ellinikon International Airport Ellinikon International Airport , sometimes spelled ''Hellinikon'', was an international airport that served Athens, Greece, for 63 years. Following its closure on 28 March 2001, it was replaced by the new Athens International Airport, Athens In ...

in Athens,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, arriving just after 3:00 a.m. local time (1:00 a.m.

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

) on 12 October. At about 4:30 a.m., the aircraft departed Athens on the regular Cyprus Airways flight to

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

with 59 passengers and a crew of seven on board. About 45 minutes into the flight, control of the aircraft was transferred from

air traffic controller An Air traffic controller (ATC) is a person responsible for the coordination of traffic in their assigned airspace. Typically stationed in area control centers or control towers, they monitor the position, speed, and altitude of aircraft and c ...

s (ATC) at Athens to their counterparts in Nicosia. The crew contacted Nicosia's controllers by radio, but when ATC replied, no response was received from the aircraft. As Flight 284 was flying toward Cyprus at approximately , the aircraft exploded about southeast of the Greek island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

and about south of the Turkish coastal town of

Demre Demre is a municipality and district of Antalya Province, Turkey. Its area is 329 km2, and its population is 27,691 (2022). It was named after the river Demre. Demre is the Lycian town of Myra, the home of Saint Nicholas of Myra. The distr ...

. The flight was scheduled to proceed to Cairo after stopping in Nicosia. Eight passengers were booked on a

Middle East Airlines Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. (), more commonly known as Middle East Airlines (MEA) (), is the flag carrier of Lebanon, with its head office in Beirut, near Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport. It operates scheduled internat ...

flight the next day.

Aftermath and investigation

Recovery of remains and wreckage

Within a day of the crash, 51 bodies were recovered from the sea. Contrary to initial reports, none were wearing

life jackets A personal flotation device (PFD; also referred to as a life jacket, life preserver, life belt, Mae West, life vest, life saver, cork jacket, buoyancy aid or flotation suit) is a flotation device in the form of a vest or suit that is worn by a u ...

. Some were wearing wristwatches that had stopped at 5:25. Investigators concluded that the aircraft had suffered some form of damage during the initial radio call to Nicosia ATC at about 5:15 a.m. and had disintegrated in flight about eight minutes later. They estimated the aircraft's wreckage to be scattered on the seabed over an area of about at a depth of below the surface. After a

drop tank In aviation, a drop tank (external tank, wing tank or belly tank) is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks externally carried by aircraft. A drop tank is expendable and often capable of being jettisoned. External tanks are commonplace on modern ...

was recovered from the sea, investigators hypothesised that the aircraft crashed following a

mid-air collision In aviation, a mid-air collision is an aviation accident, accident in which two or more aircraft come into unplanned contact during flight. The potential for a mid-air collision is increased by Aviation communication, miscommunication, mistrus ...

with a military aircraft. However, searchers also found a cushion from one of the Comet's passenger seats floating on the surface of the sea, which was found to contain evidence of a military-grade

plastic explosive Plastic explosive is a soft and hand-moldable solid form of explosive material. Within the field of explosives engineering, plastic explosives are also known as putty explosives or blastics. Plastic explosives are especially suited for explos ...

. The mid-air collision theory was discarded and no attempt was undertaken to retrieve any submerged wreckage. The seat cushion and other objects from the cabin were analysed by experts in forensic explosives at the UK's

Royal Armament Research and Development Establishment Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

, the first time that the institution performed such an analysis. The most common theory is that the explosion was a result of an attempted assassination of

EOKA The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA ; ) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organization that fought a campaign for the end of Cyprus#Cyprus under the British Empire, British rule in Cyprus, and for enosis, eventual union with K ...

and at the time, Supreme head of the defense of Cyprus,

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Georgios Grivas Georgios Grivas (; 6 June 1897 – 27 January 1974), also known by his nickname Digenis (), was a Greek Cypriot officer of the Hellenic Army and founder and leader of the Greek and Greek Cypriot paramilitary organisations Organization X (1942 ...

. The British

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

however has refused to

declassify Declassification is the process of ceasing a protective classification, often under the principle of freedom of information. Procedures for declassification vary by country. Papers may be withheld without being classified as secret, and event ...

the findings of the investigation until 2067 which has in turn, increased peoples suspicions about the events of the bombing. In 2023 however, Metropolitan Police admitted that there were lapses and flaws in their investigation and further stated that there were also political implications which could have harmed relations between Cyprus and the United Kingdom.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * "The Safety Record Worsens" ''

Flight International ''Flight International'', formerly ''Flight'', is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", i ...

'' magazine, 19 October 1967, p
636
an

(online archive version) retrieved 25 June 2010 * "Comet Sabotage? – the Evidence", ''Flight International'' magazine, 5 September 1968, p

an

(online archive version) retrieved 25 June 2010 {{coord missing, Greece Aviation accidents and incidents in 1967 Aviation accidents and incidents in Greece Accidents and incidents involving the de Havilland Comet 1967 in Greece Unsolved airliner bombings Mass murder in 1967 Flight 284 Flight 284 Terrorist incidents in Europe in 1967 1967 in Cyprus October 1967 in Europe 20th-century mass murder in Greece Aviation accidents and incidents in the Mediterranean Sea Improvised explosive device bombings in the 1960s Improvised explosive device bombings in Europe Explosions in 1967

Aircraft

Flight

Aftermath and investigation

Recovery of remains and wreckage

See also

References