Condor Flight 316
| Condor Flight 316 | |
|---|---|
 The affected machine in operation at Lufthansa in 1977 |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Airplane collision in the air |
| place | near Tarragona , Spain.svg){kind=small}
|
| date | 20th July 1970 |
| Fatalities | 3 |
| Injured | 0 |
| 1. Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type |
 Boeing 737-130
|
| operator |
 Condor flight service
|
| Mark |
D-ABEL
|
| Departure airport |
Hannover-Langenhagen Airport , Federal Republic of Germany
|
| Destination airport |
Reus Airport , Reus , Spain
|
| Passengers | 95 |
| crew | 5 |
| Survivors | 100 |
| 2. Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type |
Piper PA-28 Cherokee
|
| operator |
Real Aero Club de Reus
|
| Mark |
EC-BRU
|
| Departure airport |
Reus Airport , Reus , Spain
|
| crew | 3 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
Condor flight 316 (Flight number: DF316 ) was a flight of Condor Flugdienst from the airport Hannover-Langenhagen to Reus airport in Tarragona , Spain . On July 20, 1970, a Boeing 737-100 (D-ABEL) collided on this flight over Tarragona with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee small aircraft operated by the Real Aero Club de Reus (EC-BRU) . After the collision, the Boeing 737 was able to land safely at Reus Airport. The Cherokee, however, crashed after the collision, killing everyone on board.
It was the first fatal incident involving a Boeing 737.
Planes
First airplane
The first aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-130, which was 2 years and 2 months old at the time of the accident. The machine was assembled in the Boeing factory at Boeing Field in Washington State and made its maiden flight on March 24, 1968, before being delivered to Lufthansa on April 5 of the same year . This had leased the aircraft to Condor since 1969. The aircraft had the factory number 19022, it was the 17th Boeing 737 from ongoing production. The machine was certified with the aircraft registration D-ABEL . During operation at Lufthansa, the machine was given the name Mülheim an der Ruhr . The twin- engined , narrow -body aircraft was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7A engines.
Second plane
The second aircraft involved was a Piper PA-28 Cherokee. The machine belonged to the Real Aero Club de Reus and was used for flight training. A flight instructor and two Spanish flight students were on board.
the accident
The Boeing 737-100 took off from Hanover-Langenhagen Airport and was supposed to take vacationers who had booked stays on the Costa Daurada to Reus Airport near Tarragona .
On approach for landing, the aircraft collided with the Piper at around 7:30 p.m. local time, which had just departed from Reus. The left wing of the Boeing tore apart the Piper, which fell to the ground. All three inmates were killed. The Boeing, however, was able to land safely in Reus shortly afterwards.
Cause of accident
The accident was caused by a mistake by the air traffic controller in Reus, who had sent the machine on a collision course. Another factor was that radio contact with the Piper was not in English, as is common in aviation, but in Spanish. The pilot of the Condor machine could not understand the radio messages and therefore had no indication that a Piper was coming towards him.
After the accident
The Condor expressed criticism of the security deficits due to the expansive expansion of mass tourism in southern Europe: "In the Mediterranean region, many tourist airports have been built in the last decade that do not yet have the latest technical standard"
The Boeing 737 was repaired after the accident and was then used again. From March 1971 it went back to Lufthansa and was sold to the newly founded airline PEOPLExpress in October 1981 . After their takeover, the machine was finally taken over by Continental Airlines until it was finally scrapped on January 27, 1993, brought to the Mojave Air & Space Port and scrapped there.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Better not, Der Spiegel 31/1970 of July 27, 1970, p. 124.
- ↑ a b Accident report B-737-100 D-ABEL , Aviation Safety Network , accessed on April 2, 2019
- ^ A b c Three Killed , Daily Graphic: Issue 6159, July 22 1970.
- ↑ a b Accident report PA-28 EC-BRU , Aviation Safety Network , Aviation Safety Network , accessed on April 2, 2019
- ↑ a b Company history B-737-130, D-ABEL Planespotters (English), accessed on April 2, 2019.
- ↑ “Make that you come off the slopes” Der Spiegel 15/1977 of April 4, 1977, pp. 32–33.