Date & Time:
Sep 17, 1963
Type of aircraft:
PZL-Mielec MD-12
Operator:
Registration:
SP-PAL
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Test
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Warsaw - Warsaw
MSN:
1
YOM:
1959
Country:
Poland
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The crew departed the WSK-Okęcie factory at Warsaw-Okęcie Airport for a test flight on this first prototype built on 21 of July 1959. The goal of the mission was to measure the pressure distribution on the hull in order to select the optimal position of the static pressure sensor. En route, in unknown circumstances, control was lost and the airplane crashed in a field, killing all five crew members.
Probable cause:
Flutter of tail control surfaces caused the plane to crash.
