South African Airways Flight 201, a de Havilland Comet 1, took off at 18:32 UTC from Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy en route to Cairo, Egypt, on the second stage of its flight from London to Johannesburg, South Africa. The flight crashed, killing all aboard at around 19:07 UTC on 8 April 1954. The flight was operated as a charter by British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) using the aircraft G-ALYY ("Yoke Yoke"), with a South African crew of seven, and carrying 14 passengers.