
October 1963 to June 1967
Aden Airways
VR-AAV - c/n 187 - a V.760D series Viscount
Aden registered
circa October 1963
Re-registered from 9M-AMS.
Maintenance was carried out by Central African Airways (CAA) and the fleet was regularly ferried to their facility at Salisbury International Airport, Kentucky, Rhodesia.
circa June 1964
Noted at Salisbury International Airport, Kentucky, Rhodesia having a weather radar system installed by Central African Airways (CAA).
10 December 1966
Noted at Luqa Airport, Malta heading to the UK for maintenance with Field Aircraft Services at East Midlands Airport, Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England.
31 January 1967
Noted at Luqa Airport, Malta heading back to Aden after maintenance with Field Aircraft Services Ltd at East Midlands Airport, Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England.
30 June 1967
Destroyed when a time-bomb exploded at 15:30 hours at RAF Khormaksar, Aden.
The Viscount had been hurredly pushed out of the hangar and parked away from buildings after an engine change as it was suspected that a bomb had been placed on board while the aircraft was hangared.
This turned out to be true as the plane exploded and was virtually destroyed in the ensuing fire which quickly engulfed the aircraft.
A thick, black pall of smoke could be seen for miles around. Only the tail section remained intact.
The bomb had been placed in the aircraft by National Liberation Front guerrillas.
An Aden Airways Douglas DC-3 was parked nearby, but only suffered minor damage.
Prime Minister Harold Wilson's decision to pull out of Aden early, in November 1967, was undoubtedly influenced by this attack.
The National Liberation Front immediately seized power.
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