Date & Time:
Dec 12, 1954 at 2304 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
OK-WDK
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Cargo
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Prague – Brno – Bratislava
MSN:
12549
YOM:
1944
Country:
Slovakia
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
4
Crew fatalities:
4
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
4
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a cargo flight from Prague to Bratislava with an intermediate stop in Brno. At 2242LT, the crew obtained the permission to descend to Bratislava via heading 225° to join the approach path for runway 23. At 2302LT, the pilot reported completing a last turn to join the glide when the airplane hit the ground about 10 km north of the airport, near Pezinok. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all four crew members were killed. The wreckage was found two days later only. At the time of the accident, the airplane was off course by 1,500 meters and the weather conditions were as follow: horizontal visibility 1,800 meters, broken at 80 meters and overcast at 300 meters with heavy rain falls and severe icing conditions.
Probable cause:
It is believed that the Pitot tubes heater system was OFF at the time of the accident, which cause several instruments to display wrong parameters, such the altimeters and the speed indicators. Such situation mislead the crew. This led the aircraft to descent to the insufficient height of 70 meters where the minimum safe altitude was 600 meters.
