SABCA S.11 SABCA S.11 The SABCA S.11 or SABCA S.XI was a prototype Belgian airliner of the 1930s. It was a three-engined high-winged monoplane intended for service in the Belgian Congo, but only a single example was built. In 1926, the Belgian government issued a specification for an all-metal trimotor airliner to replace the wooden Handley Page W.8 biplanes used by Belgian airline SABENA in the Belgian Congo. To meet this requirement, Sociétés Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques (SABCA) offered a high-winged monoplane, the S.XI, designed by Henri Jullien, its chief engineer, which was intended to fly in 1928. The S.XI had
Sabena Flight 503 communication was cut off. The aircraft had crashed somewhere in the mountains of Rieti, Italy North-East of Rome and was now missing. Sabena itself got notified about the missing aircraft that same night at 23:15 but would not make an official statement until the morning of the following day. The airplane had crashed somewhere in the mountains of Rieti, Italy North East of Rome which were known for being difficult to access and also lay in a nature reserve where wolves roamed. The Italians immediately started a search and rescue mission to locate the missing aircraft and rescue its occupants.