Crash of an Ilyushin II-18V off Copenhagen: 32 killed
Date & Time:
Aug 28, 1971 at 1852 LT
Registration:
HA-MOC
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Oslo – Copenhagen – Berlin – Budapest
MSN:
181 9929 03
YOM:
1961
Flight number:
MA731
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
25
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
32
Captain / Total hours on type:
7626.00
Copilot / Total hours on type:
2391
Aircraft flight hours:
13150
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Oslo, the crew started the descent to Copenhagen-Kastrup Airport in marginal weather conditions then was cleared to descend successively to 5,000 feet and 1,500 feet. On final approach, while trying to intercept the ILS of runway 22L, the four engine aircraft nosed down and plunged into the Øresund, few hundred metres off the Saltholm Island. Three passengers were rescued while 31 other occupants were killed. Three days later, one of the survivor died from injuries sustained.
Crew:
Dezsö Szentgyörgyi, pilot,
Jozsef Menyhart, copilot,
Pål Jancsovics, navigator,
Károly Lantos, radio operator,
Lázlo Aladi, flight engineer,
Klara Tolnai, stewardess,
Eva Margit Ivan, stewardess,
Janosne Szalay, stewardess,
Katalin Tamasne, stewardess.
Crew:
Dezsö Szentgyörgyi, pilot,
Jozsef Menyhart, copilot,
Pål Jancsovics, navigator,
Károly Lantos, radio operator,
Lázlo Aladi, flight engineer,
Klara Tolnai, stewardess,
Eva Margit Ivan, stewardess,
Janosne Szalay, stewardess,
Katalin Tamasne, stewardess.
Probable cause:
The probable cause of this accident was loss of control of the aircraft at the moment where the aircraft was about to intercept the ILS glideslope to runway 22L at Copenhagen airport, Kastrup. Although it has not been possible to establish the cause of the loss of control, it is most likely to believe that the aircraft in the landing configuration was affected by a deterioration of the airflow over the tailplane to such a degree that longitudinal stability was lost.
Final Report: