UM Airlines Flight 4230

UM Airlines Flight 4230 was a chartered international passenger flight which was flying from Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Zaragoza Airport, Spain. The Yakovlev Yak-42D, operated by Ukrainian UM Airlines, tried to land at Trabzon Airport, Turkey to refuel, but because of dense fog, the crew lost visual and slammed into a mountain near Maçka, Trabzon.[1]

UM Airlines Flight 4230
The aircraft involved in the crash, seen here at Antalya Airport in 2001
Accident
Date26 May 2003 (2003-05-26)
SummaryControlled flight into terrain due to poor visibility
SiteMaçka, Trabzon
Aircraft
Aircraft typeYakovlev Yak-42
OperatorUM Airlines
RegistrationUR-42352
Flight originManas International Airport Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
StopoverTrabzon Airport, Trabzon, Turkey
DestinationZaragoza Airport, Zaragoza, Spain
Occupants75
Passengers62
Crew13
Fatalities75
Survivors0

All 13 crew and 62 passengers were killed in the crash. It remains the third-worst crash in Turkish aviation history.[2] The aircraft was carrying Spanish peacekeeping troops back from Afghanistan.

Accident

The UM Airlines Yakovlev Yak-42 was a chartered aircraft being used to transport Spanish troops after a four-month peacekeeping tour of Afghanistan. The final destination was Zaragoza Airport but the aircraft attempted to stopover at Trabzon Airport in Turkey, in order to refuel. The aircraft crashed into the side of a mountain near the town of Maçka, 15 miles (24 km) from Trabzon, on its third attempt to land in dense fog.[3] The pilot had stated that he could not see the runway; visibility was less than 10 metres (33 ft).[1]

All crew and passengers were killed in the impact. The troops on board comprised 41 members of the army and 21 members of the air force.[4] The aircraft was also carrying ammunition; explosions after the crash distributed the wreckage over a large area.[5]

Passengers and crew
CountryPassengersCrewTotal
Spain62062
Ukraine01212
Belarus011
Total621375

Context

The aircraft had been chartered from the Ukrainian UM Airlines by the Spanish defence ministry to return some of the 120 Spanish troops working as International Security Assistance Force peacekeepers in Afghanistan. It was the third crash of a Ukrainian-operated aircraft within six months; an Ilyushin Il-76 had crashed on 9 May, killing around 14 people,[6] and the previous December saw an Antonov An-140 crash in Iran with 44 fatalities.[1]

Aftermath

Spanish defence minister Federico Trillo stated "the meteorological conditions and dense fog caused the drama".[7] NATO Secretary-General George Robertson stated "This is an appalling tragedy, given that these soldiers were serving the interest of peace in a difficult mission in Afghanistan".[5] In 2004, the Spanish Socialist Party government sacked three generals after it was discovered that 22 of the victims' bodies had been misidentified and returned to the wrong families.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Turkey air crash kills Spanish troops". BBC News. 26 May 2003. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  2. "Yakolov 42D UR-42352 Maçka". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  3. "Spanish peacekeepers killed in plane crash". The Independent. 26 May 2003. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  4. Wilkinson, Isambard (27 May 2003). "75 peacekeepers die in plane crash". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  5. "Plane crash in Turkey probed". Chicago Tribune. 27 May 2003. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  6. "Safety Review" (pdf). Flight International. p. 39. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  7. Daly, Emma (27 May 2003). "75 peacekeepers die in plane crash". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  8. Lee, Keith (19 July 2004). "Spain: military chiefs replaced over Yak-42 plane crash". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 15 January 2014.

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