Military flight Slovak Antonov AN-24

The January 19th 2006 a Slovak military aircraft Antonov of the type AN-24 is crushed in the North-East of Hungary on the mountain of Borsó with Hejce, killing 42 of the 43 people on board.

Chronology

The January 19th 2006, the military aircraft, a Antonov AN-24 of the Slovak army ensures the transport of Slovak soldiers who had finished their maintenance mission of peace to the Kosovo. On board, primarily of the soldiers including three women, the crew as well as a former serviceman. A few minutes before the landing, the crew flies into visual, after having refused the guidance of the controller. Flying too low, the apparatus is crushed against the mountain of Borsó, in the commune of Hejce, close to the border between the Hungary and the Slovakia. The efforts of the helps are complicated by the inaccessible character of the site and the cold. The government meets urgently. Slovak the Prime Minister, Mikulas Dzurinda, gives a press conference in the night. It is about the most important air crash of the Slovakia since her independence. The January 22nd 2006, with the military academy of Liptovsky Mikulas, an oecumenical mass is celebrated. The following day, at midday, starts the 24 hours mourning in Slovakia, like one minute of silence to the seat of NATO, with Brussels. At the beginning of evening, a mass is given in memory of died in the cathedrals Saint Martin of Bratislava and Sainte Elisabeth of Kosice. With the mass celebrated in the capital, are present Slovak the Prime Minister, the Minister for defense Juraj Liska, the president of the Parliament Pavol Hrusovsky, as well as representatives of NATO and European Union.

The only survivor, in a held press conference the January 25th 2006, does not bring any precision as for the crash landing, because he remembers only badly moments preceding crushing. The following day January 26th, at 11 a.m., the funeral of the 42 died of the accident takes place, in the sport hall of the town of Presov. Are present, the general secretary of NATO, the president of the Slovak republic, the president of the Hungary, the ambassador of UNO for the Kosovo, the president of the Slovak Parliament, the Head of State major of the Slovak army, the Secretary of State to the defense of the Poland. The funeral praise is pronounced by the Slovak Minister for defense, Juraj Liska, and the general secretary of the NATO, Japp de Hoop Sheffer.

The January 27th 2006, the survivor returns at his place. The January 31st 2006, the press announces that the plane did not have GPWS, alarm system of proximity of the ground, which could have avoided the accident. In 2004, the ministry for Defense had planned to equip the military apparatuses with them, then gave up, estimating that the equipment present was sufficient to ensure the safety of the flights. This same day, president Dzurinda, the Gasparovic Prime Minister and the chief of the armed forces Lubomir Bulik meet. The same day, Martin Fedor is named Minister for defense, following the resignation of his predecessor, Juraj Liska. The February 2nd 2006, the Minister for defense has the result of the investigation to the government. The investigations conclude with an human error, the pilot having badly judged configuration of the ground. However, the report/ratio indicates that the precise cause of crushing is not known.

The plane

The apparatus implied in the accident is Antonov YEAR 24B manufactured in 1969 registered 5605. It was to be withdrawn of circulation in 2006

Causes of the accident

The investigation has concludes that crushing was with an human error. The pilot would have carried out a too fast descent instead of flying to more than 1000 feet to the top of the mountain. Controlling into visual without the guidance of an air-traffic controller, it would have badly evaluated the configuration of the ground. The plane would then have run up against a mountain. But the February 10th 2006, Jozef Pivarci, public prosecutor military remains careful: “It is always of 50-50. I will not allow that an alternative rocks another of them. Nothing is proven. Until now did, nobody answer the question, why the plane is descended so low?” . However the investigation finishes in May 2006 by the conclusion which it was about an human error.

Assessment

The assessment is established as follows:

Momentary: 34 died out of the 35 passengers.
Crew: 8 died out of the 8 team members.
the plane is entirely destroyed.

Compensations

The families of the people died in the accident should receive 67 million Slovak crowns, that is to say 1,8 million Euro.

External bonds

Information on the French-speaking site crash-aerien.com
Details and photographs of the accident
Article of Eurocockpit

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