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LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703

Coordinates: 50°06′05″N 22°19′25″E / 50.10139°N 22.32361°E / 50.10139; 22.32361
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LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703
A LOT Polish Airlines Antonov An-24, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date2 November 1988 (1988-11-02)
SummaryIcing causing engine failure
SiteBiałobrzegi, Poland
50°06′05″N 22°19′25″E / 50.10139°N 22.32361°E / 50.10139; 22.32361
Aircraft
Aircraft typeAntonov An-24B
Aircraft nameDunajec
OperatorLOT Polish Airlines
RegistrationSP-LTD
Flight originOkecie Airport
DestinationRzeszów Airport
Occupants29
Passengers25
Crew4
Fatalities1
Injuries28
Survivors28

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 703 was a plane that crash-landed about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) north of Rogóżno railway station, on 2 November 1988. In the accident one person was killed and several were seriously injured.

Background

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Aircraft

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The aircraft involved, purchased in April 1966,[1] was a 22-year-old Antonov An-24B registered as SP-LTD and named Dunajec.[1][2][3] The Antonov An-24 is a Soviet-built twin-engine turboprop aircraft, entering into commercial service in 1963. The aircraft can seat up to 50 people, with the aircraft involved having a capacity of up to 48 seats.[4]

Passengers and crew

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There were 25 passengers and 4 crew members on board the aircraft, with radio journalist Tomasz Beksiński also among the passengers on board the aircraft.[5] Of the passengers, four of them were foreigners. These included one British, one American, and two Dutch passengers.[6] Two of the passengers were undercover officers, who were part of the Milicja Obywatelska, insuring the aircraft's safety.[7]

The flight crew consisted of the Captain Kazimierz Rożek, who had 30 years of flying experience,[3][8] and first officer Waldemara Wolskiego.[3]

Accident

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The burned wreckage of the aircraft

The Polish Press Agency (PAP) originally reported that 16 people had been killed.[9] The report was later retracted, confirming the account of a local police officer who told The Associated Press that one person had been killed,[10] as officials from LOT Polish Airlines said that the confusion might have been caused by several passengers leaving the crash site, before making their way to a nearby road and hitching rides from motorists, leading authorities into initially presuming that they were dead.[1][4] A hospital in Łańcut treated 13 people, hospitalizing 3 of them.[11]

Investigation

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The PAP said that while near the city of Rzeszów, the aircraft's engines failed.[12] According to The Associated Press, the aircraft suffered a mechanical failure.[11] LOT Polish Airlines spokesman Jerzy Wojdylo stated that the weather was good and that eyewitnesses reported an eagle hitting the aircraft.[13]


References

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  1. ^ a b c "Pilot is credited with saving 28 lives in polish plane crash". Chicago Tribune. 3 November 1988. Archived from the original on 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  2. ^ "Crash of an Antonov AN-24B in Łańcut: 1 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "To była ostatnia katastrofa LOT-u. Słynny dziennikarz był na pokładzie". Onet.pl (in Polish). 23 March 2024. Archived from the original on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b "A Polish plane carrying 29 people crashed today in... - UPI". UPI. 2 November 2024. Archived from the original on 10 December 2024. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  5. ^ Łaskarzewski, Wojciech (2 November 2024). "Ostatnia katastrofa LOT. Samolot runął pod Rzeszowem. Na pokładzie był słynny dziennikarz". Fakt (in Polish). Archived from the original on 22 November 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  6. ^ "Briton escapes air death crash". Evening Standard. London, Greater London, England. 2 November 1988. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Mija 36 lat od ostatniej katastrofy LOT-u. Na pokładzie był Tomasz Beksiński". Onet.pl (in Polish). 2 November 2024. Archived from the original on 4 November 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  8. ^ Hetman, Karol Placha (1 November 2022). "Tragedia An-24 SP-LTD "Dunajec" w dniu 2.11.1988r. – Polot". Polot.net (in Polish). Archived from the original on 25 July 2024. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  9. ^ "Polish plane crash". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. 4 November 1988. p. 8. Retrieved 10 December 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "All but one survive Polish plane crash". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Honolulu, Hawaii. 2 November 2024. p. 9. Retrieved 11 December 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b Daniszewski, John (2 November 1988). "One reported killed in crash of Polish Airliner". Burlington, North Carolina, US: The Times News. The Associated Press. p. 3. Retrieved 10 January 2025 – via NewspaperArchive.
  12. ^ "Plane crash". Daily Post. Liverpool, Merseyside, England. 3 November 1988. p. 10. Retrieved 8 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Woman killed in Polish plane crash". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 3 November 1988.
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