Inex-Adria Airways

McDonnell Douglas MD-82

The McDonnell Douglas MD-82 departed Ljubljana at 0741LT on a charter flight to Ajaccio, carrying 173 passengers and a crew of seven. Following an uneventful flight at FL330, the crew descended at FL190 at 0835LT then the copilot's son entered the cockpit and was allowed to take the observer's seat. Further descent instructions and radar vectors were obtained and at 08:47 the flight transferred to the Ajaccio Approach controller. The controller cleared the flight to the AJO VOR at FL110 and to report when overhead the VOR. He also passed on weather information and the reported that runway 21 was the runway in use. At 0849LT the crew reported over the AJO VOR. The controller cleared the flight to descend to 3,300 feet on the 247 radial of the AJO VOR. Three minutes later the flight radioed: "Rolling inbound out of six thousand". By that time the airplane had descended below the minimum holding altitude of 6,800 feet for that area. He then reported: "Turning inbound to Ajaccio because at the moment we are in cloud." The controller then replied: "Roger, 1308, report Charlie Tango on final, surface wind two eight zero degrees, twenty knots." There was no response from flight 1308. Flight 1308 was flying a holding pattern to lose altitude, but the controller believed the aircraft was going to make a direct descent to begin the final approach. Hence the reference to the Charlie Tango (CT) NDB beacon. The GPWS warning sounded in the cockpit and the crew increased engine power to gain altitude. 13 seconds later, at a speed of 285 knots, the left wing struck the Punta di Junca and was partially torn off. The aircraft rolled to the left and crashed seven seconds later in steep cliffs located 700 meters below, about 32 km southeast of Ajaccio-Campo dell’Oro Airport. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 180 occupants were killed.

Douglas DC-9

Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident 3B operated by British Airways as flight BE476 and a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, operated by Inex-Adria Aviopromet, were destroyed when both aircraft crashed near Vrobec following a mid-air collision. All 176 on board both aircraft were killed. The Trident was on a scheduled flight from London-Heathrow Airport in England to Istanbul-Yesilköy Airport in Turkey, carrying 54 passengers and a crew of 9. The aircraft took off at 08:32 GMT and the flight proceeded normally. First contact with the Zagreb Area Control Centre was established on the Upper Sector frequency 134,45 MHz at 10:04 GMT. The flight was requested to report passing the Zagreb VOR at flight level 330. The aircraft flew along the centreline of airway UB5 with slight side deviation 1-2 km to the right due to wind. At 2 minutes and 50 seconds before the collision, the aircraft changed heading to 115° to head back towards the airway centreline. Airspeed was 295 Kts. The DC-9 departed Split Airport at 09:48 GMT to fly 108 West German tourists back to Cologne. Flight JP550 was issued instructions to climb to FL180. At 09:54 the flight, on passing flight level 130, switched to the Zagreb Area Control Centre lower sector east frequency of 124.6 MHz, receiving clearance to climb to FL240 and later to FL260. At 10:03 the crew switched to the frequency of the middle sector controller, responsible for safety and regulation of traffic between flight levels 250 and 310. This controller cleared to flight to FL350. The aircraft assumed a heading of 353° and a speed of 273 Kts as it passed a beam and to the west of the KOS NDB, approximately 2-3 km from the airway centreline. While heading towards the Zagreb VOR, the flight crew radioed the Upper Sector controller on frequency 134,45 MHz at 10:14:04 GMT and reported that they were climbing through FL325. The controller then requested, in Serbo-Croatian, flight JP550 to maintain their present altitude and report passing the Zagreb VOR. The controller stated that an aircraft was in front passing from left to right at FL335, while in fact BE476 was at FL330. At 10:14:38 the crew replied, also in Serbo-Croatian, that they where maintaining FL330. Three seconds later both aircraft collided. The outer five meters of the DC-9's left wing cut through the Trident's cockpit. Due to the sudden decompression, the forward part of the Trident's fuselage disintegrated. The remaining part of the fuselage struck the ground tail-first. With it's left wing torn off, the DC-9 tumbled down and hit the ground right-wing first.

Douglas DC-9

While descending to Prague-Ruzyne Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with fog, rain and a visibility limited to 1,500 meters. The crew passed below the MDA and the aircraft entered the Vltava Valley when the captain decided to gain height and increased engine power. The airplane struck tree tops and crashed in a residential area (houses and gardens) located about 8 km short of runway. 45 people were injured, among them a crew member, while 75 other occupants were killed. At the time of the accident, the ILS system was inoperative.