Crew 5 Survivors 14 Number of deaths 83 Destination Zürich Airport Location Macedonia (FYROM) | Passengers 92 Fatalities 83 Date 5 March 1993 Injuries (nonfatal) 14 | |
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Summary Pilot error aggravated by icing Similar Avioimpex Flight 110, Indian Airlines Flight 491, 1993 Auckland mid‑air co, China Northwest Airlines Fl, 1993 Tajik Air Yakovlev | ||
Palair Macedonian Airlines Flight 301 was a Fokker 100 that crashed shortly after takeoff from Skopje Airport on 5 March 1993. 83 of the 97 persons on board died in the accident.
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Flight
Flight 301 was an international scheduled passenger flight originating in Skopje, Macedonia with a final destination of Zurich, Switzerland. 92 passengers and 5 crew were on board the aircraft.
As Flight 301 took off, the local weather consisted of light snow with low overcast and visibility of about half a mile. Seconds after taking off from Runway 34, the aircraft began to experience heavy vibrations. While climbing through an approximate height of 50 ft and with an air speed of about 170 miles per hour, Flight 301 rolled to the left and then to the right. The aircraft's starboard wing tip struck the ground beyond the end of the runway. Flight 301 cartwheeled before crashing to the ground, with the fuselage breaking up into three pieces.
After the crash, United Nations peacekeepers assisted in rescue operations.
Palair Macedonian Airlines Flight 301 was the deadliest aviation accident involving a Fokker 100 at the time it took place, a record it maintained till TAM Flight 402 crashed on 31 October 1996. Flight 301 is still the second-deadliest Fokker 100 crash.
Investigation
The investigation board "determined that impact with the ground in a steep right bank shortly after liftoff was caused by loss of roll controllability due to contamination of the wings with ice. This situation resulted from an omission to carry out spraying of the aircraft with deicing or anti-icing fluid in meteorological conditions conducive to icing, due to a lack of ice-awareness of the flight crew and the Flying Station Engineer. Contributing factors were a lack of common background and procedures in a difficult multi-sources operational environment.