Plane crash in Remscheid
| Plane crash in Remscheid | |
|---|---|
 An A-10A "Thunderbolt II" |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Crash while flying low |
| place | Remscheid , Germany |
| date | December 8, 1988 |
| Fatalities | 7 (including 6 on the floor) |
| Injured | 50 (all on the ground) |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Fairchild-Republic A-10 |
| operator | United States Air Force |
| Departure airport | Nörvenich Air Base |
| crew | 1 (perished) |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
In a plane crash in Remscheid on 8. December 1988 a crashed fighter plane of the United States Air Force in a residential area in the district Hasten the city of Remscheid . The plane hit a residential building and crashed into the neighboring house. In addition to the pilot, six other people were killed and 50 people were injured.
the accident
The A-10 Thunderbolt II of the 2nd tactical fighter squadron (81st tactical fighter Win) g, serial number 81-0957) was located after media reports in a squadron exercise of the fighter-bomber squadron 31 in low-altitude flight . It was part of a unit stationed at the British Air Force Base Bentwaters near Ipswich, but at the time of the accident it was stationed at Nörvenich Air Base , a so-called Forward Operation Location (FOL) . The cause of the accident is considered to be “spatial disorientation” of the pilot. On the day of the crash, adverse visual flight conditions prevailed. The squad leader, Captain Gibson, flew ahead. He was followed by Captain Captain Michael P. Foster in his A-10. The fog thickened in Remscheid. While Captain Gibson managed to maneuver himself out of the danger zone, Captain Foster's machine crashed into the houses on Stockder Street.
Effects
It was initially suspected that the crashed machine was loaded with ammunition containing uranium . The US military later denied this. Another unconfirmed suspicion was that the wing tips were equipped with depleted uranium trim weights , which are said to have contaminated the ground around the crash site . An ABC train was alerted. 70 tons of soil at the crash site were removed and taken to a landfill. Film recordings prove radioactivity warning signs.
In an investigation of soil samples within 250 meters of the crash site in 2002 by the Öko-Institut , however, no traces of depleted uranium were found.
120 residents and rescuers with skin diseases have come forward. The diseases were classified as toxic-irritative dermatitis. An evaluation of the leukemia cases in the vicinity of the crash site in the following years did not show a significant increase.
The damage of around 13 million DM was borne 75% by the US Air Force and 25% by the Federal Republic of Germany .
25 years later, the head of the citizens' initiative “Fall”, Veronika Wolf, published the factual novel “Silent City” about the social consequences of the disaster. In the novel, the plane is shot down over Remscheid to prevent worse.
Web links
- Report by the Rheinische Post on the 20th anniversary with a series of pictures
- WDR deadline on the topic: December 8th, 2008 - 20 years ago: US fighter plane crashes over Remscheid: Inferno with controversial consequences
Individual evidence
- ^ Serge Schmemann: US plane crashes into german city. In: The New York Times , December 9, 1988, accessed January 30, 2011.
- ↑ www.publications.parliament.uk: House of Commons , English, accessed January 30, 2011
- ↑ http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/Display/tabid/225/Article/104932/major-general-marke-f-gibson.aspx
- ↑ Wilhelm Bittorf : I lost my wingman. In: Der Spiegel , edition 52/1988.
- ^ Article in the ZDF's Today News from December 8, 1988
- ↑ Michael Klöpper: 20 years ago: plane crash in Remscheid. ( Memento from June 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) In: rettungsdienst.de , accessed on January 30, 2011.
- ↑ Armin Himmelrath : Fireball in the residential area. In: one day , December 8, 2008, accessed January 30, 2011.
- ↑ Rettungsdienst.de: Plane crash in Remscheid ( Memento from June 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), 6.2000
- ↑ taz.de: Remscheid crash with consequences , October 13, 1989
- ↑ Did the child die of uranium contamination? In: in DerSpiegel. January 13, 2001, accessed May 18, 2018 .
- ↑ wz.de: Plane crash in Remscheid in 1988: The shock is still deep , December 8, 2008
- ↑ Harry Luck : "Wie im Krieg" In: Focus , December 8, 1988, accessed January 30, 2011.
- ↑ welt.de: Series of images: Crash in Remscheid , accessed on April 1, 2011
- ↑ http://flugzeugabsturz-remscheid.de/node/2
- ↑ swr.de: Long-term consequences of a crash , Dieter Jandt October 30, 2015
Coordinates: 51 ° 11 ′ 11 " N , 7 ° 9 ′ 38" E