Malév Flight 355

Malév Hungarian Airlines

Industry	Airline
Founded	1946
Headquarters	Budapest , Hungary

Template:Infobox Airliner accident Malév Hungarian Airlines Flight 355 was a scheduled international service operated by Malév Hungarian Airlines, traveling from Budapest to Paris with a layover in Frankfurt. The aircraft used for the flight was an Ilyushin Il-18V. On 23 November 1962, during its final approach to Paris–Le Bourget Airport, the plane stalled and crashed near Roissy-en-France.

The crash resulted in a fire that destroyed the aircraft completely and claimed the lives of all 21 individuals aboard, including Hungarian diplomatic personnel and French academic Louis Fruhling.

Aircraft

The airplane involved was an Ilyushin Il-18V turboprop with four engines, approximately two years old at the time of the incident. It bore the serial number 2002 and was registered as HA-MOD. Propulsion was provided by four Ivchenko AI-20A engines. Prior to the accident, the aircraft had accumulated a total flight time of 2,363 hours.

Crew

A total of eight crew members were present on this flight. The captain was István Kapitány, a Hungarian national born on 23 November 1929, who had been employed by Malév since 1958. The first officer was János Fenesi, also Hungarian, born on 1 October 1932; he had logged 4,135 flying hours overall with 733 hours specifically on the Ilyushin Il-18 and had been with Malév since 1952. Other crew included navigator János Koleszár (born 1928), telegrapher Gyula Szücs (born 1933), mechanics János Gadácsi (born 1922) and István Bancsi (born 1931), along with flight attendants Júlia Ferencz (born 1938) and Mária Latabár (born 1942).

Passengers

Thirteen passengers were aboard the flight. Among them were Hungarian diplomats en route to London for discussions regarding a British-Hungarian cultural agreement. Also traveling was French professor Louis Fruhling, born in Moselle in 1916 and recognized as an expert in pathological anatomy. He was returning with his wife from an international medical conference held in Budapest and served as director of Strasbourg’s Institute for Pathological Anatomy.

Accident

On 23 November 1962, the aircraft took off from Budapest at 7:44 GMT en route to Frankfurt. Upon arrival in Frankfurt, the crew spent two hours, starting at 9:50, at the meteorological office reviewing weather briefings and French forecasts. The pilot observed frequent occurrences of fog and stratus clouds, along with potential light icing conditions. When departing Frankfurt for Paris, there were 13 passengers and crew members aboard, all of whom had boarded in Frankfurt. The final radio communication occurred at 14:05. At that moment, Paris was enveloped in heavy fog. Officials reported that the plane began its instrument-based landing approach. While descending toward Paris with the landing gear deployed and engines operating near full power, the aircraft crashed at 14:10 approximately 6.1 kilometres east-northeast of the airport, close to the road connecting Paris and Soissons.

Following the crash, the airplane erupted into flames with a large fire visible. Local farmers rushed to the scene but were unable to provide assistance. The intense heat prevented any close approach to the wreckage. Additionally, snow and rain had turned the field into thick mud, hindering vehicle access to the site. Due to these challenging conditions, it took firefighters from Le Bourget three hours to reach the location of the disaster. Once the fire was extinguished, all victims' bodies were recovered. The remains had to be transported approximately 500 meters to the nearest roadway. Identification was prolonged because many bodies were severely burned.

Weather conditions

Heavy fog caused most flights at Paris–Le Bourget Airport to be canceled throughout the morning. Only one plane managed to land, while four others departed during this period.

Eyewitness accounts

Witnesses reported that the aircraft collided with high-voltage power lines.

Investigation

The Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) conducted a thorough investigation into the accident.

In February 1964, BEA released its final report concluding that the aircraft had stalled while executing a high-G maneuver. However, investigators were unable to ascertain the reason behind this maneuver.

External links

• archival newspaper photograph depicting the aircraft on fire