CSA Czech Airlines - Ceskoslovenské Státní Aerolinie

Tupolev TU-134

Landed hard at Prague-Ruzyne Airport and was damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties.

Avia 14

On approach to Bratislava-Ivanka-Milan Rastislav Štefánik Airport, the crew encountered poor visibility. He passed below the decision height until the aircraft struck the ground and crashed in a field located 1,800 metres short of runway 22. A crew member was injured while four other occupants were killed.

Tupolev TU-134

On final approach to Prague-Ruzyne Airport in limited visibility, the crew was cleared to land. Upon landing, the Tupolev collided with a CSA Ilyushin II-18V registered OK-NAA. With six crew members on board, the II-18 was just cleared to line up for takeoff. While the II-18 was slightly damaged, the TU-134 veered off runway, lost its undercarriage and came to rest in a snow covered field. All 48 occupants were evacuated safely, four of them were injured.

Ilyushin II-18

While descending to runway 22 at Bratislava-Ivanka-Milan Rastislav Štefánik Airport, the crew adopted a wrong approach configuration and descended with a rate of descent of 22 m/s instead of 10 m/s. This caused the airplane to be unstable while its speed varied from 435 to 225 km/h. Flaps were directly selected from zero to full down position, which caused the airplane's speed to decrease. Reverse thrust were activated on both engines n°2 and 3 below the altitude of 1,000 metres. At this time, the engine n°3 failed and in a certain confusion, the crew inadvertently feathered the propeller on engine n°4. During the last segment, about 50 metres above the runway threshold, the captain considered a missed approach and decided to initiate a go-around manoeuvre. The airplane climbed to an altitude of 40 metres and turn to the right when the engine n°4 was restarted. The airplane rolled to the right then stalled and crashed in the Zlaté piersky Lake located one km short of runway 13 threshold, northwest of the airport. Four passengers were rescued while 75 other occupants were killed. Few hours later, one of the survivor died from his injuries.

Ilyushin II-62

While approaching Damascus International Airport by night and excellent weather conditions, the crew failed to realize his altitude was insufficient when the airplane struck the ground at an altitude of 605 meters AMSL and crashed in flames in a desert area located about 18 km from the airport. Rescue teams arrived on scene about 30 minutes later and two passengers, two Syrian citizens, were rescued. All 126 other occupants were killed, among them 67 Czechs, 55 Syrians, 3 Polish and one East-German. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were ideal with good visibility despite the night and a wind from 230° at 10 knots.

Avia 14

Suffered an accident at Prague-Ruzyne Airport. The mishap occurred somewhere in January 1975 (exact date unknown). There were no injuries but the aircraft was written off.

Tupolev TU-104

After touchdown on runway 14 at Nicosia Airport, the airplane deviated to the right then veered off runway and came to rest in flames about 150 metes from the runway end. All 70 occupants escaped, nine of them were injured. The aircraft was destroyed.

Avia 14

Apparently following a misunderstanding, the crew forgot to lower the gear. The aircraft belly landing at Karlovy Vary Airport and slid for several yards before coming to rest. There were no casualties.

Tupolev TU-124

While descending to Zurich-Kloten Airport, the flight engineer encountered technical issues with the cabine pressure and was forced to control it manually. Focused on this problem, he failed to hear and understand the instruction of the captain to lower the gear. In such circumstances, the airplane landed on its belly on runway 16 and slid for 875 meters before coming to rest in flames. All 20 occupants were quickly evacuated and uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair. Apparently, the crew failed to hear the gear alarm.

Tupolev TU-104

On final approach to runway 18, the crew encountered marginal weather conditions and poor visibility due to fog. Unable to establish a visual contact with the runway, the captain decided to make a go-around. Few minutes later, a second attempt to land on runway 18 was also abandoned for the same reason. In such conditions, the crew decided to change the circuit and initiated an approach from the south to runway 36. At a speed of 350 km/h, the airplane struck the ground and crashed in flames about 5,5 km short of runway threshold. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 13 occupants were killed.

Avia 14

After takeoff from Prague-Ruzyne Airport, while climbing, one of the engine failed. The airplane went out of control and crashed in an open field located 7 km southwest from the airport. Three crew members and eight passengers were killed while 29 other occupants were injured. The aircraft was en route from Prague to Košice with an intermediate stop in Pieštany.

Ilyushin II-18

Flight 523 was a scheduled international flight from Prague, Czechoslovakia to Havana, Cuba, via Shannon, Ireland, and Gander, Newfoundland. It departed Prague at 1649 hours GMT on 4 September and proceeded to Shannon where it arrived at 2020 hours for a routine servicing stop. It departed Shannon at 2131 hours arriving at Gander at 0326 hours on 5 September following an uneventful flight. The crew which had flown the aircraft from Prague disembarked at Gander and was replaced by a crew which had been off duty in Gander from 3 September. At Gander the aircraft was serviced and refuelled under the supervision of the flight engineer of the outgoing flight. A flight plan to Havana was filed at about 0405 hours and at 0504 hours the aircraft began taxiing to the threshold of runway 14. It was cleared to take-off at 0508 hours. The length of the ground roll was normal, the undercarriage and flaps were retracted, but the angle of climb was abnormally shallow. At 0509 hours the flight advised the tower controller that the aircraft was airborne, the tower controller acknowledged the transmission and advised the flight to contact Air Traffic Control Centre on a frequency of 119.7 MHz. Whilst the radio operator was changing frequency the aircraft struck the ground about 4 000 feet beyond the end of the runway. The accident occurred at 0510 hours GMT. Debris scattered on 1,500 meters and 32 occupants were wounded while 37 others were killed, among them 4 crew members.

Avia 14

The approach to Brno was started in limited visibility due to marginal weather conditions. On final, the airplane struck the top of a hill and crashed by a house located near the village of Slavkov, about 6 km from the runway 28 threshold. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact and three crew members and ten passengers were killed, the rest of the occupants were injured, some of them seriously.

Ilyushin II-18

The airplane departed Zurich at 2043LT on 11 July. The en route part of the flight trip was uneventful. At 01:00 the aircraft contacted Sale Tower and requested weather information. The tower replied: "visibility 10 m (30 ft), ground fog, clear sky." The flight then advised it was heading for Casablanca, the alternate. At 01:06 the aircraft gave its position as 5 miles from Casablanca-Anfa (CAS), requested permission to descend and asked for landing instructions. The aircraft was asked to call when on the downwind leg. Four minutes later the flight was asked to call when on final approach and was told that he was number one for landing, the surface wind was 040°at 4 kts. The pilot replied that he would call when over the range station. The aircraft flew over the field at 01:13, and three minutes later the pilot gave his altitude as 400 m (1300 ft) and indicated a ceiling of 150 m (500 ft). The flight was advised that cloud was 7/8, ceiling 140-150 m (450 to 500 ft). Three minutes later conditions were 7/8, 100 m (330 ft). At 01:22 the aircraft requested permission to land in Casablanca-Nouasseur Airport (CMN) if possible, and the tower asked him to wait. Two minutes later the aircraft was asked how much fuel it had remaining. It replied it had enough for 90 minutes. During the time Anfa control was transmitting this request to the American authorities in Nouasseur, the aircraft crashed at 01:25, in line with runway 03 about 8 miles from its threshold.

Ilyushin II-18

While cruising at an altitude of 20,000 feet over Bavaria, the four engine aircraft disappeared from radar screens at 2009LT and crashed in a field located near Forchheim, north of Nuremberg. The crew was unable to send any distress call prior to the crash. The airplane disintegrated on impact and all 52 occupants were killed.

Avia 14

After takeoff from Prague-Ruzyne Airport, the airplane encountered difficulties to gain height, struck power cables and crashed in a field located one km from the airfield. All ten occupants were killed. They were involved in a local training mission.

Ilyushin II-12

After takeoff from Zurich-Kloten Airport, while climbing by night, the airplane went out of control and crashed nose first in a field located in Eglisau, about 12 km north of the airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 23 occupants have been killed. A crater of 10 meters width and three meters depth was found at the point of impact.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

On the leg from Bratislava to Košice, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and was contacted by ATC and diverted to Poprad. Few minutes before its ETA in Poprad, while cruising in bad weather conditions at an altitude of 1,300 meters, the aircraft hit trees and crashed in a snow covered and wooded area located in the Tatra Mountain Range. Four passengers were injured and rescued while all 22 other occupants were killed.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

The crew was performing a cargo flight from Prague to Bratislava with an intermediate stop in Brno. At 2242LT, the crew obtained the permission to descend to Bratislava via heading 225° to join the approach path for runway 23. At 2302LT, the pilot reported completing a last turn to join the glide when the airplane hit the ground about 10 km north of the airport, near Pezinok. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all four crew members were killed. The wreckage was found two days later only. At the time of the accident, the airplane was off course by 1,500 meters and the weather conditions were as follow: horizontal visibility 1,800 meters, broken at 80 meters and overcast at 300 meters with heavy rain falls and severe icing conditions.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

After a takeoff roll of 900 meters on runway 22, the pilot-in-command initiated the rotation. While climbing to a height of about 50 feet in a horizontal visibility of about 100 meters, the crew sighted the chimney and the pilot made a sharp turn to the left to avoid a collision. Doing so, the airplane hit a telephone pole and telegraphic cables, stalled and crashed in flames in a snow covered field located about one km south of the airfield. All four crew members and nine passengers were killed while five other passengers were rescued. The aircraft was destroyed. Crew: Jan House, pilot, Jirí Levý, copilot, Milroslav Kalenda, radio operator, Milroslav Häusler, flight engineer.

Ilyushin II-12

While taxiing for takeoff, the aircraft hit an obstacle and came to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair and clean-up of register.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

On final approach to Košice Airport, the aircraft crash landed in a field and came to rest on a railway embankment. All 23 occupants were uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Shortly after take off from Košice Airport, while climbing, the crew encountered an unexpected situation and was forced to attempt an emergency landing in an open field. The aircraft crash landed, lost its undercarriage and came to rest in flames. Both crew members were slightly injured while the aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire. Source: http://www.planes.cz/lite/fc47.php Crew: Karel Kopal, pilot, Leoš Hrebecka, copilot.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

About thirty minutes after his departure from Ostrava Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with drizzle, low visibility and strong winds gusting to 90 km/h. While cruising at an altitude of 1,440 meters, the aircraft hit the slope of Mt Praded (1,491 meters high). The aircraft was destroyed and rescuers arrived on site few hours later. Three crew members and two passengers were killed. Crew killed were: Vaclav Soukup, pilot, Augustin Korotvicka, radio operator, Richard Olšovský, flight engineer. Passengers killed were: Jan Kloda, Ladislav Škrabálek.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

While overflying the Peloponnese region, the crew encountered poor weather conditions when the aircraft hit the slope of Mt Taigetos located about 22 km southeast of Kalamata. Seven USAF aircraft took part to the SAR operations and the wreckage was found few hours later in a mountainous region. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and all 24 occupants were killed.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

On approach to Prague-Ruzyne Airport, when the aircraft broke through the clouds, it was deviated by 300 meters to the right of the runway centerline. Rather than making a go around, the pilot completed a steep turn to the left to join the runway but on final, the left wing hit the ground and the aircraft came to rest in a grassy area to the right of the runway. While all occupants escaped uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Douglas DC-3

Shortly after takeoff from Prague-Ruzyne Airport, while climbing, the aircraft went out of control and crashed in a field located in Kladno, northwest of the airport. All three crew members were killed. Crew: Jan Kuhl, pilot, Josef Hainzel, pilot, František Papácek, mechanic.

Douglas DC-3

Parked on the apron and subject to a maintenance control by two technicians, the aircraft was destroyed by fire after being hit by a Spencer Airways C-47 registered VP-YFD that crashed on takeoff. Both technicians were slightly injured.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

The crew started the descent to Paris-Le Bourget when he encountered an unexpected situation. The captain decided to attempt an emergency landing and the aircraft crash landed in a field located few km from the airport. All 15 occupants were rescued while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

On approach to Prague, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and was forced to make a go around. During the next hour, four other attempts to land were aborted. Finally, the captain informed ATC that he was short of fuel and was forced to make an emergency landing. The aircraft crash landed in a field located in Dobrovíz, two km north of the airfield. All 18 occupants were evacuated, two of them (both crew members) were injured. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair. The ETA in Prague was 1535LT and the accident occurred at 1736LT. The crew of a Pan Am Constellation who should land in Prague decided to continue to Brussels due to poor weather conditions. Photo: http://www.planes.cz/lite/fc47.php

Junkers JU.52

Following an uneventful flight from Paris via Strasbourg, the crew started the descent to Prague but encountered poor weather conditions. Due to low visibility, the first approach was abandoned and a go around was performed. A second attempt to land was abandoned as well, still for the same reason. During the third attempt, the three engine aircraft was too low and hit the ground short of runway threshold. Eight passengers and two crew members were killed while five other occupants were seriously injured.

Savoia-Marchetti SM.73

The approach to Strasbourg Airport was completed in low visibility due to foggy conditions. While descending, the three engine aircraft hit tree tops and crashed in a wooded area located in Oberkirch, some 20 km east of Strasbourg. The stewardess was seriously injured while all 16 other occupants were killed. A day later, the only survivor died from her injuries. Crew: Karel Brabenec, pilot, Bedrich Soukup, copilot, Alois Krahulec, navigator, M. Krautnerová, stewardess.

Fokker F9

Shortly after takeoff from Bratislava-Vajnory Airport, an engine fired. Crew reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing in a field located near the airport. While both occupants were uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Letov S-32

On final approach to Karlovy Vary, at a height of 100 metres, one of the stabilizer detached. The airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed short of runway. Three passengers were injured while both pilots and a passenger, the Austrian Actor Max Pallenberg, were killed.

Ford 5

The aircraft departed Prague-Kbely Airport at 1505LT on a flight to Bratislava with an intermediate stop in Brno. While cruising at a height of 700 metres, weather conditions worsened and the captain decided first to reduce his altitude. Shortly later, he realized the weather conditions were becoming worse and worse with thunderstorm activity. Due to low visibility, he decided to make a 180 turn to go back to Prague. While flying at a height estimated between 15 and 20 metres in limited visibility, he saw the chimney of a brickwork and made a sharp turn to the left to avoid the collision. Doing so, the aircraft stalled and hit the roof of a farmhouse then crashed half in a garden. While a passenger (Professor Vojtech Kraus) was seriously injured, all 12 other occupants were killed. Up to date, this accident was considered as the worst involving CSA Czech Airlines since its creation in 1923. Crew: Josef Sedlár, pilot, Josef Trafina, mechanic. Passengers: Ing. Mirko Káš, Ing. Vojtech Jokl, Anton Müller, Vladislaw Müller, Rudolf Vonka, Boh. Jarolímek, Ing. Bernard Eimann, Judr. Anton Hamrle, Prof. Vojtech Kraus, Marie Rybnícková, Mr. Lowenstein.

Aero DH.50

En route, the engine failed. The pilot attempted an emergency landing on a hill when the aircraft crashed and came to rest upside down. The pilot was uninjured while the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Aero A.23

En route from Brno to Prague, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions and low visibility due to fog. He followed a circuit for a half an hour and eventually attempted an emergency landing in an open field. All six occupants evacuated safely and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Aero DH.50

En route from Brno to Prague, the pilot encountered technical problems and attempted an emergency landing in Golcuv Jeníkov. Aircraft was damaged beyond repair but all four occupants escaped unhurt.

Aero A.10

The pilot, sole on board, was completing a local training flight at Prague-Kbely Airport. Three minutes after takeoff, the engine failed and the oil tank ruptured. The pilot attempted an emergency landing when the aircraft crashed in a grassy area near the airfield. While the pilot was injured, a woman who was mowing the lawn was killed.

Aero A.10

The aircraft departed Prague-Kbely on a local training flight to prepare the crew to the first 'Air Speed Race'. On board were six soldiers and two crew members. After takeoff, while climbing, the aircraft entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in an open field. All eight occupants evacuated with minor injuries while the aircraft was destroyed. Crew: Cpt V. Cerný + one mechanic.