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ČSA Flight 540

Coordinates: 33°31′10″N 36°40′10″E / 33.5194°N 36.6694°E / 33.5194; 36.6694
From Alfawiki
ČSA (Czechoslovak Airlines)
IndustryAirline
Headquarters
Prague
,
Czechoslovakia
ProductsAir transport services


Template:Expand Czech

Aircraft accident overview

ČSA Flight 540 was an international service operating between Prague, Czechoslovakia and Tehran, Iran, with scheduled stops in Damascus, Syria and Baghdad, Iraq. On the night of 20 August 1975, the flight, utilizing an Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft, crashed approximately 17 km (11 mi) northeast of Damascus International Airport during its descent under clear weather conditions. The aircraft disintegrated upon impact and was engulfed in flames. Of the 128 people on board, only two survived, while 126 passengers and crew perished, marking it as the deadliest aviation accident in Syria’s history as well as the most severe loss for the airline.[1][2] In response to the tragedy, condolences were extended by the Czechoslovak authorities to both the victims’ families and the Syrian government.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name

Aircraft and personnel

The aircraft involved bore the registration OK-DBF and was an Ilyushin Il-62 model manufactured in 1973, the same year it was handed over to the airline. This particular plane carried the name Brno Trade Fair.[1]

Commanding the flight was Captain Ján Gajdoš, aged 54, who possessed approximately 19,000 total flight hours, including around 3,000 hours on the Il-62. His crew included first officer Stanislav Žižka, age 50, with about 15,000 hours of flight experience (approximately 2,500 on this aircraft type), navigator František Aulík (43), and flight engineers Karel Hasman (48) alongside Vladimír Hejduk, who was off duty at the time. The cabin crew comprised purser Miroslav Peták supported by five additional attendants. Overall, there were 117 passengers and 11 crew members aboard.Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name

Accident

The aircraft went down in a high desert region situated roughly 17 km away from Damascus Airport.[lower-alpha 1]

At first, three individuals survived the crash; however, one of them, a young boy, passed away en route to medical care. This reduced the number of survivors to two and increased the fatalities to 126.[2]

Nationality Passengers Crew Survivors Total
Template:Country data Czechoslovakia 52 11 0 63
Template:Country data Syria 25 0 1 25
Poland 3 0 0 3
Spain 1 0 0 1
Hungary 1 0 0 1
Template:Country data East Germany 1 0 0 1
Template:Country data Unknown 34 0 1 34
Total 117 11 2 128

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ASN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Eugene

Notes

  1. ↑ The location of the crash is at an elevation of 605 metres (1,985 ft) AMSL.[1]

External links

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