Cologne

The crew departed Cologne-Bonn Airport on a training flight (check flight) to Nuremberg. During the takeoff roll, at or near V2 speed, the aircraft deviated to the left and veered off runway. It rolled beside the runway for about 600 metres then returned on the runway. It took off but overturned and crashed upside down, bursting into flames. All four occupants were killed.

Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident 3B operated by British Airways as flight BE476 and a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, operated by Inex-Adria Aviopromet, were destroyed when both aircraft crashed near Vrobec following a mid-air collision. All 176 on board both aircraft were killed. The Trident was on a scheduled flight from London-Heathrow Airport in England to Istanbul-Yesilköy Airport in Turkey, carrying 54 passengers and a crew of 9. The aircraft took off at 08:32 GMT and the flight proceeded normally. First contact with the Zagreb Area Control Centre was established on the Upper Sector frequency 134,45 MHz at 10:04 GMT. The flight was requested to report passing the Zagreb VOR at flight level 330. The aircraft flew along the centreline of airway UB5 with slight side deviation 1-2 km to the right due to wind. At 2 minutes and 50 seconds before the collision, the aircraft changed heading to 115° to head back towards the airway centreline. Airspeed was 295 Kts. The DC-9 departed Split Airport at 09:48 GMT to fly 108 West German tourists back to Cologne. Flight JP550 was issued instructions to climb to FL180. At 09:54 the flight, on passing flight level 130, switched to the Zagreb Area Control Centre lower sector east frequency of 124.6 MHz, receiving clearance to climb to FL240 and later to FL260. At 10:03 the crew switched to the frequency of the middle sector controller, responsible for safety and regulation of traffic between flight levels 250 and 310. This controller cleared to flight to FL350. The aircraft assumed a heading of 353° and a speed of 273 Kts as it passed a beam and to the west of the KOS NDB, approximately 2-3 km from the airway centreline. While heading towards the Zagreb VOR, the flight crew radioed the Upper Sector controller on frequency 134,45 MHz at 10:14:04 GMT and reported that they were climbing through FL325. The controller then requested, in Serbo-Croatian, flight JP550 to maintain their present altitude and report passing the Zagreb VOR. The controller stated that an aircraft was in front passing from left to right at FL335, while in fact BE476 was at FL330. At 10:14:38 the crew replied, also in Serbo-Croatian, that they where maintaining FL330. Three seconds later both aircraft collided. The outer five meters of the DC-9's left wing cut through the Trident's cockpit. Due to the sudden decompression, the forward part of the Trident's fuselage disintegrated. The remaining part of the fuselage struck the ground tail-first. With it's left wing torn off, the DC-9 tumbled down and hit the ground right-wing first.

The JetStar was executing a visual approach to Bremen following an IFR ferry flight from Cologne Airport (CGN). At the same time a Piaggio P.149D trainer aircraft of the Lufthansa Flying School took off from Bremen. The student pilot was flying under the 'hood' in order to simulate an IFR training mission. The JetStar collided head on with a Piaggio P.149D. The Piaggio crashed but the JetStar managed to carry out an emergency landing at Bremen. The JetStar had suffered substantial damage to the underside of the flight deck. The undercarriage could not be deployed and one of the engines had lost power. A belly landing was carried out on the grass next to the runway.

While cruising over the Swiss Alps at an altitude of 14,000 feet, the crew encountered poor weather and icing conditions. He requested the permission to reduce his altitude when ATC advised the crew to divert to Zurich for a safe landing. This was the last radio transmission. Shortly later, the twin engine aircraft struck the southwestern slope of Mt Oberalpstock (3,328 m high) located at the border between the cantons of Uri and Graubünden. The wreckage was later found about 300 meters below the summit and all six occupants have been killed. It is believed that the crew was probably diverting to Zurich Airport at the time of the accident as the airplane struck the southwestern slope of the mountain. Among the victims were both German speedboat champions Sigrud Knubben aged 23 and Rolf Friedrich Goetze aged 43.

On a flight from Cologne to Brussels, while cruising in poor weather conditions, the twin engine aircraft crashed in unknown circumstances on Mt Eifel near Lammersdorf. All four occupants were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Deblon,
Sgt Demeyer,
Ss/Lt Malcoye,
Ss/Lt Balbeur.

The airplane departed RAF Bardney at 2217LT on July 3 on an operation to Cologne. Over the target area, it was shot down by the German Flak and crashed in the Rhine River. All eight crew members were killed.
Crew:
F/Lt John Alfred Wakeford, pilot,
Sgt Thomas Geoffrey Porter, pilot,
Sgt John Elwyn Owen, flight engineer,
F/O Jonah Bruce Reeves, navigator,
Sgt Harold Joseph Hawkridge, bomb aimer,
Sgt Alec Frederick Backler, wireless operator,
W/O George Francis Dohaney, air gunner,
Sgt Harry Leonard Wilson, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF East Wretham at 2357LT on July 3 on an operation to Cologne. It crashed in unknown circumstances in the target area. Six crew members were killed and one became PoW.
Crew:
Sgt Bennett Stokes-Roberts, pilot, †
Sgt David Oliver Wilcox, flight engineer, †
Sgt Dennis Arthur Crowsley, wireless operator, †
F/O Robert Leonard Donovan, navigator, †
Sgt Thomas Frederick Shevels, bomb aimer,
Sgt George Thomson, air gunner, †
Sgt Stanley Eric Finch, air gunner. †

The airplane departed RAF Bourn at 2235LT on July 3 on an operation to Cologne. The exact location of the crash remains unknown but it is believed that it was shot down by the German Flak over the target area. Lost without trace.
Crew:
F/O Lewis Garnier Rembridge, pilot,
Sgt Richard Charles Sydney Golding, flight engineer,
F/O William John Hills, navigator,
F/O Henry Weston Parry, bomb aimer,
W/O Geoffrey Raymond Cobby, wireless operator,
Sgt Arthur Jones, air gunner,
Sgt Frank Morrison Lamb, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Kirmington at 2313LT on July 3 on an operation to Cologne. The exact location of the mishap remains unknown but it is believed that the bomber was shot down by a German fighter while over the target area, killing the entire crew. Lost without trace.
Crew:
S/L Arthur Alan Cookson, pilot,
F/Sgt James Crichton Clark, navigator,
F/Sgt William Scarlett, bomb aimer,
P/O Ronald Stanley Rich, wireless operator,
W/O William Harold Pym, air gunner.

The airplane departed RAF Langar at 2231LT on June 22 on an operation to Mülheim. It crashed in unknown circumstances in Cologne, killing the entire crew.
Crew:
F/O Philip Gerard Herrin, pilot,
F/O William Henry Flatt,
F/O Georges Kleinberg,
Sgt Peter Mills,
Sgt Stanley Payton, wireless operator,
Sgt Ronald Bradshaw, air gunner,
Sgt Gerald Arthur Harold Male, air gunner.