Aircraft collision from Červený Kameň

Aircraft collision from Červený Kameň
	A Let L-410 similar to the two crashed aircraft
Accident summary
Accident type	Air collision
place	Červený Kameň , Slovakia
date	20th August 2015
Fatalities	7th
1. Aircraft
Aircraft type	Let L-410UVP
operator	Dubnica Air
Mark	OM-ODQ
Departure airport	Dubnica Airfield , Slavnica , Slovakia;
Destination airport	Dubnica Airfield , Slavnica , Slovakia;
Passengers	17th
crew	2
Survivors	15th
2. Aircraft
Aircraft type	Let L-410MA
operator	Dubnica Air
Mark	OM-SAB
Departure airport	Dubnica Airfield , Slavnica , Slovakia;
Destination airport	Dubnica Airfield , Slavnica , Slovakia;
Passengers	17th
crew	2
Survivors	16
	Lists of aviation accidents

The plane collision at Červený Kameň occurred on August 20, 2015, when two Let L-410UVP aircraft with a total of 38 people crashed over the Slovak town of Červený Kameň and crashed to the ground. Since most of the inmates were parachutists , most of them were able to leave the crashing machines in time. When they hit the ground, however, there were still seven people in the two machines, all of whom were killed.

First airplane

The first affected machine was a Let L-410UVP made in Czechoslovakia . The machine had the factory number 841320 and was first delivered to Aeroflot in 1984 with the aircraft registration number CCCP-67096 . The machine later went back to Czechoslovakia , where it was operated as OK-ODQ . After the country split into two states, the machine remained in Slovakia and received the new aircraft registration OM-ODQ . The twin-engine regional airliner was equipped with two Walter M601D turboprop engines .

There was a two-person crew on board the machine, consisting of a flight captain and first officer as well as 17 parachutists.

Second plane

The second affected machine was a Let L-410MA made in Czechoslovakia . The machine had the factory number 750405 and was first delivered within Czechoslovakia in 1975. There it was operated in the course of its operational history with the aircraft registration numbers OK-120 , OK-PZH and OK-PDH . In the meantime, the machine was also used by the Czechoslovak Air Force with the aircraft registration number 0405 . In the course of its history the machine also had the Bolivian registration number CP-2252 . Eventually the machine received the Slovak aircraft registration OM-SAB . The twin-engine regional airliner was equipped with two Walter M601D turboprop engines .

There was also a two-person crew on board this machine, consisting of a flight captain and first officer as well as 17 parachutists.

the accident

On August 20, 2015, the two machines took off from the airfield. The parachute jumps were to be part of an exercise for an upcoming air show on Slavnica flight day two days later. The flight should lead to an altitude of 4000 meters, from which the jumps should then be carried out. OM-SAB flew ahead, followed by OM-ODQ . It was agreed that the machines would fly at a distance of 100 meters from each other. During the flight, the aircraft in the rear came closer and closer to the aircraft in front, whereby the agreed safety distance was increasingly fallen below.

While he was flying the machine, the flight captain of the OM-ODQ recorded a video of the flight with his smartphone . He held the phone in his left hand and the steering column in his right hand. The collision finally occurred at an altitude of 1400 to 1500 meters. The right wing of the aircraft in front first hit the side door of the OM-ODQ and then tore off its entire tail section. The OM-ODQ then went down in a flat spin .

The aileron of the OM-SAB was torn off as a result of the collision with the stern section of the OM-ODQ and the right stabilizer was badly damaged. The machine went down in a combined three-axis rotation consisting of roll, yaw, and pitch.

As the machines crashed, most parachutists were able to jump out of them and open their parachutes.

Both machines crashed into a difficult to access area in a forest near Červený Kameň on the border with the Czech Republic .

Victim

Of the 34 parachutists on board the two planes, 31 survived who managed to jump out of the crashing machines in time and open their parachutes. Two parachutists were killed because they lost consciousness after being thrown around by the jerky movements inside the machines. Another skydiver died because his parachute failed after jumping. In addition, the four pilots on board the two machines were killed.

Cause of accident

The accident investigators attributed the main cause of the accident to the collision of the two machines in flight. This was caused by the distraction of the master of the OM-ODQ , as he had used his mobile phone in the flight and was therefore no longer concentrating on his main task, controlling the machine, to the extent required.

swell

49.081824 18.183961Coordinates: 49 ° 4 ′ 54.6 " N , 18 ° 11 ′ 2.3" E