Draft:Millon Air Flight 406

Millon Air Flight 406 was an international cargo flight serving from Eloy Alfaro International Airport in Manta, Ecuador to Miami International Airport, in Miami, United States which on October 22, 1996, the Boeing 707-323C plunged into the neighborhood of Dolorosa, leading to the loss of the three crew members and one passenger onboard as well as 30 persons on the ground.

Aircraft
The aircraft was a 1967-built Boeing 707-323C with Serial Number 19582 and 639th Boeing 707 off the assembly line. It went first into service with American Airlines with registration N8402. It was in service with the airline for 16 years before being sold off to Premiere Airlines in April 1984. Two years later, Challenge Air Cargo used the 707 for three years and eventually sold it to Transway Air International with Liberian registration EL-GNU. EL-GNU's journey was short-lived as it was then acquired by Millon Air with registration N751MA and was on wet-lease to Aries del Sur from 1993 to February 1996.

On February 22nd, 1996, eight months before the fatal accident, N751MA operating on a charter flight from Manaus, Brazil, encountered a nose gear extension failure, requiring it to perform a wheels-up emergency landing at Miami International Airport.

The cause of the malfunction was attributed to fatigue cracks present in the pressure relief valve housing on the aircraft allowing the hydraulics to be discharged from the airframe inflight. However, Millon Air serviced the aircraft and brought it back into service in March 1996.