Ndola Air Crash

Date: September 18, 1961 • Location: Ndola, Zambia

An aircraft crashed near Ndola in Northern Rhodesia, resulting in the deaths of 16 people, including United Nations secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld.

On 18 September 1961, a DC-6 passenger aircraft of Transair Sweden operating for the United Nations (UN) crashed near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia. The crash resulted in the deaths of all people on board, including Dag Hammarskjöld, the second secretary-general of the United Nations, and 15 others. Hammarskjöld had been en route to ceasefire negotiations with Moïse Tshombe during the Congo Crisis. Three official inquiries failed to conclusively determine the cause. Some historians and military experts like Susan Williams have criticized the official inquiries, pointing to evidence of foul play that had been omitted from the inquiries.