ČSA Flight 001 explained

Czechoslovak Airlines Flight 001
Image Caption:ČSA Ilyushin Il-18, similar aircraft
Date:July 28, 1976, 9:37 CEST
Type:Pilot error and/or technical failure
Occurrence Type:Accident
Site:Lake Zlaté Piesky near M. R. Štefánik Airport, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia
Coordinates:48.1819°N 17.19°W
Fatalities:76
Injuries:3
Aircraft Type:Ilyushin Il-18B
Operator:ČSA
Tail Number:OK-NAB
Origin:Ruzyně International Airport, Prague
Occupants:79
Destination:M. R. Štefánik Airport, Bratislava
Passengers:73
Crew:6
Survivors:3

Czechoslovak Airlines Flight 001 was an Ilyushin Il-18B four engine turboprop airliner, registered OK-NAB, which was operating as a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Prague's Ruzyně airport to Bratislava-Ivanka Airport, both in Czechoslovakia, which crashed into the Zlaté Piesky (Golden Sands) Lake while attempting to land in Bratislava on July 28, 1976. All 6 crew members and 70 out of 73 passengers died.[1]

Crash

The flight departed Prague airport at 8:52 (CEST) and proceeded routinely to Bratislava. At 9:35:10 (CEST) the flight was cleared by Bratislava tower to land on runway 22. For reasons that are unclear, the crew executed a highly unstabilized ILS instrument approach to runway 22, with rates of descent as high as 4,320 fpm or 22m/s instead of 10m/s; speeds varying from 225km/h435km/h instead of 269km/h; and flap selection directly from 0 degree to full flaps instead of in gradual increments. As they approached the runway, the crew inadvertently set thrust reversal at the no. 2 and no. 3 engine (inboard engines) while still airborne. The thrust reversal caused the no. 3 engine to fail and the crew then inadvertently feathered the no. 4 prop, losing all thrust on the right side of the aircraft.[2] At 50m (160feet) above the runway threshold the crew attempted to execute a go-around. They tried to restart the no. 4 engine at 40m (130feet), but the ensuing right bank due to asymmetric thrust increased; the aircraft then lost control and struck lake Zlaté Piesky (Golden Sands) in a 60 degree right bank and a 60 degree nose down attitude.[3]

Communications log

(001 - ČSA Flight 001, TWR – Bratislava air traffic control)

09:36:20
  • TWR: 001 Making go-around?
  • 001: Affirmative
  • TWR: Roger, left turn
    09:36:30
  • 001: Roger
    09:36:50
  • TWR: Left turn 001!
  • 001: …… (not acknowledged)
    09:37:10
  • 001: Ono to byla štyrka ano... / It was no. 4 yes... / (accidentally broadcast)

    Investigation

    The investigators published [4] the causes as follows:

    Rescue operation

    The plane crashed into a lake in a densely populated area and rescue operations started immediately after the crash. Svazarm divers tried to help, but most passengers drowned or died due to the impact forces. Initially, four passengers were pulled out alive; one passenger later died in the hospital.

    Controversy

    A surviving passenger later claimed in an interview that flight captain requested emergency landing in Brno but it was rejected because of the Vietnamese delegation visiting the city and an emergency landing would harm the image of the country. He also claimed that Vienna airport offered an emergency landing permission but communist authorities rejected it.[5] It is unclear how a surviving passenger would be aware of the captain's actions during the flight, or how searching for an alternate emergency landing site relates to an unstabilized approach with inadvertent thrust reversal deployment at Bratislava.

    See also

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Ranter . Harro . ASN Aircraft accident Ilyushin Il-18V OK-NAB Bratislava-Ivanka Airport (BTS) . 2020-10-07 . Aviation Safety Network . Flight Safety Foundation.
    2. Web site: Information about the plane crash. 2020-10-07. www.planecrashinfo.com.
    3. Web site: Planes History . 2007-01-04 . 2007-01-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070104161249/http://www.planes.cz/cs/historie/2/ . dead .
    4. http://www.k-report.net/ukazobrazek.php?soubor=204349.jpg&httpref=54342/154538 Final report - page 57
    5. News: 2006-07-25. Pred 30 rokmi v Bratislave spadlo lietadlo. sk-SK. Plane crashed in Bratislava 30 years ago. Pravda.