1951 LOT Li-2 Tuszyn air disaster

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Tuszyn air disaster
Li 2 na Okeciu.jpg
Two Li-2s, similar to the incident aircraft, at Warsaw Chopin Airport in 1947.
Accident
Date15 November 1951
SummaryEngine failure, loss of control
SiteTuszyn, Poland
Coordinates: 51°34′49″N 19°30′24″E / 51.58028°N 19.50667°E / 51.58028; 19.50667
Aircraft
Aircraft typeLisunov Li-2
OperatorLOT Polish Airlines
RegistrationSP-LKA
Flight originLublinek Airport
DestinationJohn Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice
Passengers15
Crew3
Fatalities18
Injuries0
Survivors0

The 1951 LOT Li-2 Tuszyn air disaster occurred on 15 November 1951 when a LOT Polish Airlines Lisunov Li-2 flew into power lines near Tuszyn, crashed and burst into flames. All 15 passengers and 3 crew died.[1] It was the first LOT aircraft disaster since the end of World War II.

Incident[]

On 15 November 1951 a LOT Lisunov Li-2 was en route from Łódź to Kraków–Balice. Shortly after take-off while flying through Górki Duże near Tuszyn it flew into power lines, crashed and went into flames.[2] All 15 passengers and 3 crew died. The Captain of the flight was Marian Buczkowski, father of Polish actor Zbigniew Buczkowski.[2] The official cause of the disaster was attributed to bad weather conditions (low clouds and fog) and pilot's error.[2]

According to a journalist investigation, due to lack of documentation in LOT archives, the events leading to the crash might have been different.[2] The Li-2 flew in from Szczecin that day and after landing Buczkowski pointed out that one of the engines may be faulty and refused to fly again.[2] Threatened with a pistol by a Security officer who wanted to get to Kraków he reluctantly agreed.[2] Due to the faulty engine the plane stalled, tipped over the power lines and crashed into a field.[2]

On 27 November 2010 an obelisk was erected to commemorate Captain Buczkowski, the crew and passengers.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ Accident description for SP-LKA at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 12 July 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Przemysław Semczuk (2 August 2009). "Sprawa kapitana Buczkowskiego" (in Polish). Newsweek.pl. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
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