Bucharest – Prague

Enroute from Bucharest to Prague, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low clouds. The pilot lost his orientation due to fog and decided to reduce his altitude to establish a visual contact with the ground when the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed in a dense wooded area. Thirteen passengers were rescued, among them Arel Grigoresco, ambassador of Romania in Prague, while thirteen other occupants were killed, among them all five crew members.

Flight / Schedule

Bucharest – Prague

Aircraft

Lisunov LI-2

Registration

YR-TAI

MSN

184 235 09

Year of Manufacture

1946

Date

November 21, 1947 at 06:00 PM

Type

CRASH

Flight Type

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Plain, Valley

Crash Location

Plouznice Liberec Region (Liberecký kraj)

Region

Europe • Czech Republic

Coordinates

50.6339°, 14.7639°

Crash Cause

Human factor

Narrative Report

On November 21, 1947 at 06:00 PM, Bucharest – Prague experienced a crash involving Lisunov LI-2, operated by TARS - Transporturile Aeriene Româno-Sovietice, with the event recorded near Plouznice Liberec Region (Liberecký kraj).

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

26 people were known to be on board, 13 fatalities were recorded, 13 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 50.0%.

Crew on board: 5, crew fatalities: 5, passengers on board: 21, passenger fatalities: 8, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. Enroute from Bucharest to Prague, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low clouds. The pilot lost his orientation due to fog and decided to reduce his altitude to establish a visual contact with the ground when the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed in a dense wooded area. Thirteen passengers were rescued, among them Arel Grigoresco, ambassador of Romania in Prague, while thirteen other occupants were killed, among them all five crew members.

Aircraft reference details include registration YR-TAI, MSN 184 235 09, year of manufacture 1946.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 50.6339°, 14.7639°.

Fatalities

Total

13

Crew

5

Passengers

8

Other

0

Crash Summary

Enroute from Bucharest to Prague, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with low clouds. The pilot lost his orientation due to fog and decided to reduce his altitude to establish a visual contact with the ground when the aircraft hit tree tops and crashed in a dense wooded area. Thirteen passengers were rescued, among them Arel Grigoresco, ambassador of Romania in Prague, while thirteen other occupants were killed, among them all five crew members.

Cause: Human factor

Occupants & Outcome

Crew On Board

5

Passengers On Board

21

Estimated Survivors

13

Fatality Rate

50.0%

Known people on board: 26

Operational Details

Schedule / Flight

Bucharest – Prague

Flight Type

Scheduled Revenue Flight

Flight Phase

Flight

Crash Site

Plain, Valley

Region / Country

Europe • Czech Republic

Aircraft Details

Aircraft

Lisunov LI-2

Registration

YR-TAI

MSN

184 235 09

Year of Manufacture

1946

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