On Friday, 45 years have passed since the Passenger Aircraft plane crash, in which 87 people were killed. Among the passengers was the singer Anna Jantar and the US boxing team. The circumstances of the disaster were examined independently by the Commission from Poland and the USSR, and their findings turned out to be different.
Starting aircraft LOT LOT IL-62 Mikołaj Kopernik from the airport Kennedy in New York was scheduled for March 13, 1980 at 19 local time. However, heavy snowfall, which affected this region of the United States at that time, delayed the outlet. After cleaning the runway and machine, at 21:18 “Copernicus” set off in a flight to Warsaw.
The route over the Atlantic ran in good weather conditions, no technical problems were also reported by none of the members of the 10-person crew commanded by 46-year-old experienced Captain Paweł Lipowczan, who previously spent nearly 9,000 in the air. hours, and second pilot Ireneusz Łachocki.
See also: Pilots received mysterious warnings near the recent disaster
The death of Anna Jantar and boxers from the USA
The machine was also not particularly burdened, more than half of the places remained free. Among the passengers was, among others amateur boxing representation USA consisting of 14 athletes and trainers, doctors and masseurs, as well as the well -known singer Anna Jantar, returning from performances in the United States.
Around 11 of the Polish time, the crew made contact with the flight control tower in Warsaw's Okęcie, without reporting any technical problems. “Copernicus” was directed to the path to landing, the weather over the capital was cloudless. At 11:13 the captain signaled the difficulties with the chassis signaling and the intention to switch to the second circle around the airport, so that the mechanic could check it. Nobody was concerned at the time, because before Iłach-62 failures of the indicator signaling the proper extending and blockage of the chassis, usually caused by burn out the bulb or fuse, were noted.
Air disaster at Okęcie
When the aircraft increased the power to rise to the second circle, the shaft connecting the turbine with the low pressure compressor in engine 2. Then the rotating turbine accelerated beyond the permissible turnover, and in effect it was torn to three parts, which – in addition to engine 2 – destroyed the engine 1 and cut the pushing system on the left side of the height and the prostate, as well damaged the right -hand engine No. 3. A beam of electric cables supplying electric cables to, among others, was also cut. power supply black box and conversation recorder in the cockpit, which resulted in a lack of information about the last seconds of the flight.
The crew then lost practically the possibility of controlling the sloping machine. At the last minute, the captain managed to miss the juvenile correctional facility on the wings only thanks to the change in tilting. The plane cut the tree with the right wing. 11:15 he crashed in the moat in the former military fort near al. Krakowska. The machine broke up into many parts, among which the rescue team and local residents came to the place of the disaster victims. 77 passengers and 10 crew members were killed. The authorities announced a two -day mourning.
Ił-62 plane wreck Mikołaj Kopernik near Okęcie (14.03.1980)Grzegorz Rogiński/PAP
Arrangements after the disaster
Shortly after the disaster, a special commission was created, which, as the main cause of the disaster, recognized the turbine tearing in engine 2 “as a result of unfavorable and accidental coincidence and hidden material and technological defects that led to premature fatigue of the engine shaft.” The report was sent to the USSR, to the Iljuszyna construction office, where, however, it was rejected as unbelievable claiming that the scalp of the engine shaft was the result of a disaster, not its cause. It wasn't until a few years later that the Russians admitted that the engine had structural defects.
For years, these defects have been considered the only cause of the Copernicus disaster. However, according to secret materials from the investigation conducted at the Ministry of the Interior, found at the Institute of National Remembrance and given by “Newsweek Polska”, the Polish side also contributed to the accident.
According to these documents, the disaster was related to the savings made in the 70s, referring mainly to the extended operating time of aircraft engines, not having them to a Soviet service technician in the case of technical problems and attempts to repair them on their own and to overload engines by starting with a maximum amount of fuel to save on refueling in the West. However, the results of this investigation obtained a secrecy clause in the 1980s, and in common opinion the Soviet producer only bears the blame for the “Copernicus” disaster.
The collective grave of the victims of the accident is located at the capital's North Municipal Cemetery in Wólka Węglowa, while the crew grave is at the Military Cemetery in Powązki. A small monument dedicated to athletes who died in the disaster was erected in the Warsaw SKRA Sports Club. The name of the captain of “Copernicus” Paweł Lipowczan was received by one of the blocks of al. Krakowska at the capital of Okęcie.
Il-62 passenger aircraft in Warsaw's Okęcie (1973)Pai
Source of the main photo: Grzegorz Rogiński/PAP