Egelsbach - Egelsbach

On December 22, 1991 at 11:37 AM, Egelsbach - Egelsbach experienced a crash involving Douglas DC-3, operated by Classic Wings, with the event recorded near Heidelberg Baden-Württemberg.

The flight was categorized as charter/taxi (non scheduled revenue flight) and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

32 people were known to be on board, 28 fatalities were recorded, 4 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 87.5%.

Crew on board: 3, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 29, passenger fatalities: 25, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The aircraft departed Egelsbach Airport in the middle morning on a local charter flight, carrying 29 passengers and a crew of three, among them a team who should make a TV movie on board. In flight, the captain left his seat and passengers came in the cockpit. The copilot was supposed to follow the Rhine River but distracted by discussions with the passengers, he mistook the Rhine with the Neckar River. Few minutes later, weather conditions deteriorated and the copilot decided to continue instead of returning. At an altitude of about 500 metres, he initiated a left turn when the aircraft struck trees and crashed in a wooded area located in the forest of Hoher Nistler, about 5 km northeast of Heidelberg. Four passengers were seriously injured while 28 other occupants were killed.

Aircraft reference details include registration D-CCCC, MSN 7353, year of manufacture 1942.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 49.3628°, 8.6932°.