1937 Sabena Junkers Ju 52 Ostend crash who was not on board the aircraft. She was adopted by her uncle Louis in early 1938. Johanna died of meningitis in 1939. With the death of the childless Prince Louis in 1968, the male line of the Hesse and by Rhine became extinct. 1937 Sabena Junkers Ju 52 Ostend crash On 16 November 1937 a Junkers Ju 52/3m owned by Belgian airline SABENA, operating as a scheduled international passenger flight from Cologne, Germany, to London, England, crashed near Ostend, Belgium. The aircraft hit a tall factory chimney while attempting to land at Steene aerodrome near Ostend, Belgium. The accident
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.