Interflug

Ilyushin II-62

Interflug flight 102, an Ilyushin Il-62M, was destroyed following a runway excursion accident on takeoff from Berlin-Schönefeld Airport, East Germany. Of the 113 occupants, 21 were killed. At 06:20 hours local time the engines were started. Immediately thereafter, the flight control surfaces were unlocked, a process which, according to the cockpit voice recorder, was not completed. The crew did not carry out the necessary check of the warning panel on the condition of the elevator. While taxiing for departure, the captain checked for the second time the movement of the elevators but failed to notice they were locked. The aircraft was cleared for takeoff from runway 25L and the engines were adjusted to rated power due to the low take-off mass of 113 tons. At 06:28:05 the aircraft reached VR. The captain pulled the control column during VR, but the aircraft did not respond. Four seconds later he called out to abort the takeoff. At this time the aircraft had attained a speed of 293 km/h. Instead of using reverse thrust, the flight engineer shut down all four engines. The speed at this time was 303 km/h and the remaining distance to the end of the runway was about 940 meters. The aircraft rolled over the end of the runway at a speed of 262 km/h and slightly to the left of the centerline. During the emergency braking five tires of the main landing gear had been destroyed. The airaft crossed an excavation pit of 40 cm deep, causing the the right main landing gear to collapse. It then collided with a water tank, concrete piles of the airport fence, a road embankment and six trees. At 06:28:37 the aircraft came to rest and burst into flames. Within two minutes, 82 passengers could be rescued alive from the fuselage, which had been broken into three parts. All 10 crew members survived.

Ilyushin II-18

The airplane was dispatched from Berlin to Luanda to transfer a load of weapons and ammunitions to the ZAPU (Zimbabwe African People's Union) militants based in Lusaka, Rhodesia. The cargo arrived from East Germany by boat and was transferred to the airplane. During the takeoff roll on runway 23, at a speed of 268 km/h, the engine n°2 failed. The captain decided to abandon the takeoff procedure and initiated an emergency braking maneuver. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the aircraft overran, collided with the localizer antenna and crashed in flames. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 10 occupants were killed. Crew: Dieter Hartmann, pilot, Jochen Wilsdorf, pilot, Horst Umlauft, navigator, Frank-Rolf John, flight engineer.

Tupolev TU-134

The approach to Berlin-Schönefeld Airport runway 25L was completed with the autopilot activated. At a height of 120 meters, the crew was supposed to switch off the autopilot but the captain decided to continue in such configuration, using elevator to counter the autopilot. During the last segment, the rate of descent increased to 6-8 meters per second when the airplane struck the runway surface. Upon impact, the left wing was torn off. Out of control, the airplane veered off runway and came to rest upside down in a grassy area, about 400 meters from the initial impact. All 74 occupants were evacuated, eight of them were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. Photos via www.interflug.biz

Tupolev TU-134

The approach to Leipzig-Halle Airport was completed in marginal weather conditions. On short final, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when, at a height of 3 meters, the airplane struck the localizer antenna. The left engine and a part of the left wing were torn off. Out of control, the airplane crashed in flames 300 meters short of runway threshold. Three crew members and four passengers were injured while 27 other occupants were killed.

Tupolev TU-134

Few minutes after takeoff from Leipzig-Halle Airport, en route to Kraków, Poland, the pilot informed ATC about technical problems and was cleared to divert to Berlin-Schönefeld Airport. The airplane landed hard on runway 25L and after touchdown, was unable to stop within the remaining distance. It overran and came to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Ilyushin II-62

The four engine aircraft departed Berlin-Schönefeld Airport at 1630LT on a charter flight to Burgas, carrying 148 passengers (144 East German citizens, three Austrians and one unknown nationality) and eight East-German crew members. Thirteen minutes later, while cruising at an altitude of 29,200 feet, the crew informed ATC about technical problems and was cleared to return to Berlin. The dumping fuel system was activated at 1651LT and three minutes later, as the situation worsened, the captain started an emergency descent. At 1659LT, he informed ATC that he was losing control of the airplane and declared a fire on board. Shortly later, the empennage detached and totally out of control, the airplane dove into the ground and crashed in flames in a wooded area located in Königs Wusterhausen, about 11 km southeast of Berlin-Schönefeld Airport. The aircraft was totally destroyed and none of the 156 occupants survived the crash. Up to date, this was the worst aircraft crash in the European History.

Ilyushin II-14

The crew was completing a local training flight at Berlin-Schönefeld Airport when an unidentified technical problems occurred in flight and forced the crew to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft crash landed and came to rest in flames. While all three crew members escaped uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Ilyushin II-14

While approaching Leipzig-Halle Airport on a flight from Moscow, the crew encountered technical problems and was forced to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft came to rest in a field located few km from the airport and was damaged beyond repair. There were no casualties.

Antonov AN-2

Crashed near the airport of Magdeburg while completing a local training flight. Both pilots were killed.

Ilyushin II-14

The aircraft departed Berlin-Schönefeld Airport at 1357LT on a charter flight to Constata with an intermediate stop in Budapest, carrying 28 passengers and a crew of five. Fourteen minutes after takeoff, while cruising at an altitude of 2,400 meters above the clouds, the left magneto failed due to a broken electrical wire. Overcharged, the right magneto failed shortly later, causing the failure of all electrical systems. The battery became shortly empty, causing the heating system and the deicing system to fail as well. Some circuit breakers also failed and in such conditions, the captain decided to divert to Dresden-Klotzsche Airport for an emergency landing. Due to the failure of the radio communication systems, the crew was unable to contact ATC and in poor weather conditions, it was impossible for the pilot to locate the airport of Dresden. The captain eventually attempted an emergency landing in a field located in Königsbrück. The aircraft belly landed near a military barrack, slid for several yards and came to rest. All 33 occupants evacuated the cabin and only two passengers were slightly injured. The aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair.