Malév Flight 240
Encyclopedia
Malév Flight 240, was a Tupolev Tu-154
tri-motor jetliner of Malév Hungarian Airlines, which was flying on the Budapest
to Beirut
regular route when it crashed near the Lebanese shoreline
on 30 September 1975. All 50 passengers and 10 crew on board died. No official statement was ever made on the crash and its cause has never been publicly revealed.
In recent years, rumors persist that the plane was shot down, either because it carried arms to some Arab group, or because it was supposed to carry the members of a PLO delegation (but in the end did not). Possible attackers include Israel
or Syria
.
On September 27, 2007, György Szilvásy
, then Minister of Civil Intelligence Services wrote in a letter to Róbert Répássy (Fidesz
), member of the Hungarian Parliament, that the Hungarian Office of National Security produced a report on the crash in 2003. The report can be summarized as follows: There are no available original (secret service) documents concerning the case. The report remains top secret, for reasons not connected to the crash.
On January 6, 2009 questions relating to this crash were put forward to the European Commission..
Tupolev Tu-154
The Tupolev Tu-154 is a three-engine medium-range narrow-body airliner designed in the mid 1960s and manufactured by Tupolev. As the mainstay 'workhorse' of Soviet and Russian airlines for several decades, it serviced over a sixth of the world's landmass and carried half of all passengers flown...
tri-motor jetliner of Malév Hungarian Airlines, which was flying on the Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
to Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
regular route when it crashed near the Lebanese shoreline
Geography of Lebanon
Lebanon stretches along the east side of the Mediterranean Sea, its length almost three times its width. As it stretches from North to South, the width of its terrain becomes narrower. Lebanon's mountainous terrain, proximity to the sea, and strategic location at a crossroads of the world were...
on 30 September 1975. All 50 passengers and 10 crew on board died. No official statement was ever made on the crash and its cause has never been publicly revealed.
In recent years, rumors persist that the plane was shot down, either because it carried arms to some Arab group, or because it was supposed to carry the members of a PLO delegation (but in the end did not). Possible attackers include Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
or Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
.
On September 27, 2007, György Szilvásy
György Szilvásy
György Szilvásy is a Hungarian politician former Minister in the cabinet of Ferenc Gyurcsány supervising the secret service....
, then Minister of Civil Intelligence Services wrote in a letter to Róbert Répássy (Fidesz
Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union
The Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Union is a major conservative party in Hungary. At the 2010 election in Hungary, Fidesz-KDNP won a two-thirds majority of seats by gaining 52% of the votes, with Fidesz winning 227 seats and KDNP winning 36...
), member of the Hungarian Parliament, that the Hungarian Office of National Security produced a report on the crash in 2003. The report can be summarized as follows: There are no available original (secret service) documents concerning the case. The report remains top secret, for reasons not connected to the crash.
On January 6, 2009 questions relating to this crash were put forward to the European Commission..
External links
- Accident Synopsis » 09301975, Airdisaster.com
- An article of the Hungarian weekly Hetek.
- A harminc évvel ezelőtti Malév-katasztrófa titka
- The Lost Malev