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during those years . By 1958 , despite a tenfold increase in passenger numbers ( from 18,078 in 1948 to 185,531 in 1958 ), it had accumulated losses of 29.4 million pesetas . In just over two years , it had suffered six accidents with casualties : a Languedoc ( EC-AKV ) had crashed into a house near Tenerife airport on September 29 , 1956 ; a Bristol 170 ( EC-ADI ) had crashed near Madrid- Barajas airport on May 9 , 1957 ; a Heron ( EC-ANZ ) had crashed in Puigpunyent while approaching Son Bonet aerodrome , Mallorca , on November 15 , 1957 ; another Heron ( EC-ANJ ) had crashed into the sea near Barcelona airport on April 14 , 1958 ; a Languedoc ( EC- ANR ) had crashed in the Sierra de Guadarrama , Madrid , on December 4 , 1958 ; and a Bristol 170 ( EC-ADH ) had crashed near Mahón airport ( Menorca ) on March 13 , 1959 .
GROWTH AND CRISIS
In 1959 , Iberia became Aviaco ’ s main shareholder — having gained 66 % of the shares thanks to a
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6 The Carvair-Air Bridge service was introduced in 1964 thanks to the transformation of several DC-4s , in order to transport passengers and their vehicles from the Iberian Peninsula and southern France to the island of Mallorca . // AUTHOR ’ S COLLECTION
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capital injection — and immediately subjected the company to an intense and complete restructuring , hoping to leave behind its disastrous years of accidents and economic losses . In 1960 , it sold the Languedocs and , soon after , the Herons . It reached an agreement with Sabena ( SN ) to incorporate three Convair 440s . Earlier , it had tried to buy new Fokker 27s from the factory , an impossible task due to the lack of foreign currency in the country .
Aviaco ’ s relationship with Belgium ’ s Sabena became closer .
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The airlines agreed to jointly use a 72-seat Sabena DC-6B to fly Brussels-Madrid and Brussels- Barcelona , continuing onward to destinations in the Canary Islands . The flights from Brussels to Madrid or Barcelona were operated with a Belgian crew , with Aviaco personnel taking over to the Canaries . Shortly after , the agreement was expanded to include a Caravelle for the same mission , making Aviaco the first Spanish airline to offer jet flights .
AO temporarily leased Douglas DC-3s and DC-4s from Iberia
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