London-Gatwick – Rijeka

On May 23, 1971 at 08:00 PM, London-Gatwick – Rijeka experienced a crash involving Tupolev TU-134, operated by Aviogenex, with the event recorded near Rijeka Primorje-Gorski Kotar.

The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

83 people were known to be on board, 78 fatalities were recorded, 5 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 94.0%.

Crew on board: 7, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 76, passenger fatalities: 75, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The aircraft departed London-Gatwick Airport on a charter flight (JJ130) to Rijeka, Croatia, carrying 76 British tourists and a crew of seven. While approaching runway 14 at Rijeka Airport, the crew encountered very bad weather conditions with cumulonimbus, heavy rain falls and turbulences. As the aircraft passed through the area, it was carried upwards and rolled to the right. The aircraft was now above the ILS glide slope. Some 800 meters short of the runway, at a height of 60 meters, the crew decided to continue the approach. Power was reduced and the angle of descent increased to 10°. The aircraft struck the runway surface with its right main gear at a speed of 260 km/h with 4 g deceleration force. On impact, the right wing was torn off, the airplane slid for about 760 meters and came to rest upside down, in flames. Three crew members and 75 passengers were killed. Brand new, the aircraft was totally destroyed.

Aircraft reference details include registration YU-AHZ, MSN 1 35 12 05, year of manufacture 1971.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 45.3278°, 14.4415°.