Finsterwalde - Ansbach

On April 17, 1936 at 12:00 AM, Finsterwalde - Ansbach experienced a crash involving Junkers JU.52, operated by Deutsche Lufthansa, with the event recorded near Biel Bern.

The flight was categorized as military and the reported phase was flight at a mountains crash site.

5 people were known to be on board, 3 fatalities were recorded, 2 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 60.0%.

Crew on board: 5, crew fatalities: 3, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The three engine aircraft was performing a special flight from Finsterwalde (north of Dresden) to Ansbach, southwest of Nuremberg, Bavaria. By night and in poor weather conditions (snow falls), the aircraft deviated from its prescribed route and continued over Switzerland. At a relative low height, the aircraft hit a mountain slope located near the village of Orvin and crashed in flames. First rescuers arrived on the scene one hour later and two crewmen were rescued while all three other occupants were killed. It is believed the crew was totally disoriented due to low visibility (night and snowfalls) and despite the assistance provided by the ATC located in Munich and Stuttgart via all Direction Finding Equipment, it was not possible to help the crew to find his route. At the time of the accident, the cabin was equipped with military materials while the aircraft was believed to be a civilian version.

Aircraft reference details include registration D-ASOR, MSN 5044, year of manufacture 1935.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 47.1597°, 7.2906°.