LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165
Encyclopedia
LOT Polish Airlines Flight LO 165, operated by an Antonov An-24
aircraft, registration SP-LTF, en route from Warsaw
to Cracow Balice airport
crashed during a snowstorm on the northern slope of Polica
mountain near Zawoja
in southern Poland
on 2 April 1969 at 16:08 local time (UTC+1), killing all 53 people (47 passengers and 6 crew) on board. There were three Americans and one London resident among the passengers, all others being Polish citizens.
The aircraft hit the mountain at an altitude of 1200 metres (3,937 ft).
No reasons were given why the aircraft, just before the crash, was flying at such a low altitude some 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) past its intended destination.
Information given below comes from two newspaper articles published in 1994, with a summary written by a third party available on-line . The journalist wrote that even 25 years after the accident, most of the documentation remained classified, so his main sources were interviews with participants in the rescue action and some members of the accident investigation commission who asked for anonymity.
At 15.49 the first officer receives a routine instruction: after passing Jędrzejów
, less than 80 km north of the destination, descend to
1500 metres (4,921.3 ft) and get in touch with the Balice control tower (VOR in Jędrzejów is a border point of Warsaw/Krakow ATC centre). At that time a military radar registers the aircraft at 4000 metres (13,123.4 ft).
Pilots informed Okecie and Balice about time, when the plane passed Jędrzejów VOR, but given three circumscription: 15.52, 15.55 for Okecie and 15.49 for Balice. Pilots informed Balice also about time of passed next VOR - 15.53.
Shortly before 16:00 the captain (who took over controls in the meantime) calls Balice, gives the altitude as 3700 metres (12,139.1 ft), gets the local weather report and is instructed to descend to 1200 metres (3,937 ft).
At 16:01 the aircraft is at 2400 metres (7,874 ft) and descending. In the next eight minutes a series of radio exchanges takes place between the aircraft and the Balice radar operator, with the captain repeatedly asking for the fix
and reporting problems with the beacon signal, and the operator asking for the aircraft's position and altitude to help him to find the aircraft on the radar screen. At 16:05 the aircraft is near Maków Podhalański
, some 50 km past the destination, at 1200 metres (3,937 ft). The last message was: "Left turn to further..." - at 16.08.17. Seconds after that the radio contact is lost.
Antonov An-24
The Antonov An-24 is a 44-seat twin turboprop transport designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union by the Antonov Design Bureau from 1957.-Design and development:...
aircraft, registration SP-LTF, en route from Warsaw
Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport
Warsaw Chopin Airport is an international airport located in the Włochy district of Warsaw, Poland. Poland's busiest airport, Warsaw Chopin handles just under 50% of the country's air passenger traffic....
to Cracow Balice airport
John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice
-Traffic:Figures in MillionsThe busiest international routes are to London and Dublin.-Getting there:In addition to road access by private car or taxi, other options are:-By train:...
crashed during a snowstorm on the northern slope of Polica
Polica
Polica, locally known as Police, is a mountain, , in southern Poland near Zawoja, in the Żywiec Beskids mountain range.LOT Polish Airlines Flight 165 crashed on the northern slope of Police on 2 April 1969...
mountain near Zawoja
Zawoja
Zawoja is a village in Southern Poland located close to Maków Podhalański. It is situated in Sucha County . With neighbouring village of Skawica it constitutes a rural Zawoja Commune. It has 6,200 inhabitants and is often mentioned as one of the biggest Polish villages...
in southern Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
on 2 April 1969 at 16:08 local time (UTC+1), killing all 53 people (47 passengers and 6 crew) on board. There were three Americans and one London resident among the passengers, all others being Polish citizens.
The aircraft hit the mountain at an altitude of 1200 metres (3,937 ft).
Introduction
The official accident report, published in 1970, blamed the pilot for getting lost.No reasons were given why the aircraft, just before the crash, was flying at such a low altitude some 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) past its intended destination.
Information given below comes from two newspaper articles published in 1994, with a summary written by a third party available on-line . The journalist wrote that even 25 years after the accident, most of the documentation remained classified, so his main sources were interviews with participants in the rescue action and some members of the accident investigation commission who asked for anonymity.
Flight
The aircraft takes off at 15:20 local time for a 55 minute flight to Cracow's Balice airport. Capitain was Czewsław Doliński (with 20 years of flying in PLL LOT and more than two million kilometres of experience).At 15.49 the first officer receives a routine instruction: after passing Jędrzejów
Jedrzejów
Jędrzejów is a town in Poland, located in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 35 km southwest of Kielce. It is the capital of Jędrzejów County. It has 18,069 inhabitants ....
, less than 80 km north of the destination, descend to
1500 metres (4,921.3 ft) and get in touch with the Balice control tower (VOR in Jędrzejów is a border point of Warsaw/Krakow ATC centre). At that time a military radar registers the aircraft at 4000 metres (13,123.4 ft).
Pilots informed Okecie and Balice about time, when the plane passed Jędrzejów VOR, but given three circumscription: 15.52, 15.55 for Okecie and 15.49 for Balice. Pilots informed Balice also about time of passed next VOR - 15.53.
Shortly before 16:00 the captain (who took over controls in the meantime) calls Balice, gives the altitude as 3700 metres (12,139.1 ft), gets the local weather report and is instructed to descend to 1200 metres (3,937 ft).
At 16:01 the aircraft is at 2400 metres (7,874 ft) and descending. In the next eight minutes a series of radio exchanges takes place between the aircraft and the Balice radar operator, with the captain repeatedly asking for the fix
Fix (position)
In position fixing navigation, a position fix or simply a fix is a position derived from measuring external reference points.The term is generally used with manual or visual techniques such as the use of intersecting visual or radio position lines rather than the use of more automated and accurate...
and reporting problems with the beacon signal, and the operator asking for the aircraft's position and altitude to help him to find the aircraft on the radar screen. At 16:05 the aircraft is near Maków Podhalański
Maków Podhalanski
Maków Podhalański is a town in southern Poland. Population: 5,738 .Since 1999 situated in Sucha County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Previously in Bielsko-Biala Voivodeship.-External links:*...
, some 50 km past the destination, at 1200 metres (3,937 ft). The last message was: "Left turn to further..." - at 16.08.17. Seconds after that the radio contact is lost.
Passenger manifest
For today, the official death toll of 53 killed is controversial. LOT manifest included 53 passengers and 5 crew members, but two days after the crash Polish press agencies published (based on LOT's informations) 46 surnames (part of them without an address or name).See also
- List of Poland disasters by death toll
- LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 crashed near Okęcie Airport in Warsaw, Poland, on 14 March 1980, due to mechanical failure as the crew aborted a landing and attempted to go-around. All 87 crew and passengers died.- The aircraft :...
- LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055 crashed in the Kabaty Woods nature reserve on the outskirts of Warsaw on May 9, 1987. The aircraft was an Ilyushin Il-62M bearing the name Tadeusz Kościuszko...
- LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703 was a plane that crash-landed about north of Rogóżno railway station, on 2 November 1988. In the accident one person was killed and several were seriously injured.- Flight :...