2008 Polish Air Force C-295 crash
{{Rewrite|date=June 2024}}
{{Short description|2008 aviation accident in Poland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| image = Polish Air Force C-295 (cropped).jpg
| caption = A Polish Air Force CASA C-295, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident
| image_upright = 1.15
| name = 2008 Polish Air Force C-295 crash
| date = {{Start date|df=y|2008|01|23}}
| type = Controlled flight into terrain in poor weather conditions
| occurrence_type = Accident
| site = Mirosławiec, Poland
| coordinates = {{coord|53|22|48|N|16|06|39|E|source:kolossus-plwiki|display=inline,title}}
| aircraft_type = EADS CASA C-295
| origin = Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport, Poland]
| destination = 12th Air Base, Mirosławiec, Poland
| operator = {{Air force|POL}}
|tail_number = 019
| occupants = 20
| passengers = 16
| crew = 4
| fatalities = 20
| survivors = 0
}}
Image:Uroczystości żałobne ofiar katastrofy samolotu CASA C-295M w Świdwinie.jpg
On 23 January 2008, a Polish Air Force EADS CASA C-295 military transport plane, flying from Warsaw, crashed in Mirosławiec as it was attempting to land at the 12th Air Base, killing all 20 passengers and crew. The 20 victims on board included high-ranking Polish air force officers.{{cite web| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7205810.stm |title=Polish army plane in fatal crash |publisher=BBC News |date=24 January 2008 |accessdate=18 November 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://www.trojmiasto.pl/wiadomosci/news.php?id_news=26571 |title=Katastrofa samolotu wojskowego na Pomorzu Zachodnim |publisher=Trojmiasto.pl |date= |accessdate=18 November 2012 |language=Polish}}
Among the fatalities was Brig. Gen. Andrzej Andrzejewski, commander of an air brigade based in Świdwin.{{Cite news |date=2008-01-24 |title=Twenty killed in Polish military plane crash |url=http://www.ctvnews.ca/twenty-killed-in-polish-military-plane-crash-1.272570 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240319175915/https://www.ctvnews.ca/twenty-killed-in-polish-military-plane-crash-1.272570 |archive-date=2024-03-19 |access-date=2025-03-01 |work=CTVNews |language=en-CA}}
This was the first fatal accident involving a CASA C-295. Subsequently, all Polish C-295s were grounded until further notice.{{cite news |title=Poland grounds C-295 transports after 20 killed in crash |publisher= Flight Global |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/01/25/221101/poland-grounds-c-295-transports-after-20-killed-in-crash.html |date=25 January 2008}}
Investigation
In the subsequent investigations the primary cause of the accident was determined to be an inadvertent loss of spatial and situational awareness by the aircraft crew during the landing approach in poor weather conditions, with a low cloud ceiling and little visibility.{{cite web| url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20080123-0 |title=ASN Aircraft accident CASA C-295M 019 Miroslawiec AB |publisher=Aviation-safety.net |date=23 January 2008 |accessdate=18 November 2012}}
A number of secondary causes and contributing factors were also found by the investigation after the accident, including deficiencies in the air traffic controllers' skills and methods of directing and controlling the landing.PROTOKÓŁ badania zdarzenia lotniczego nr 127/2008/2 – wypadku ciężkiego (katastrofy lotniczej) samolotu CASA C-295M numer 019, zaistniałego w 13 eskadrze lotnictwa transportowego z Krakowa, dnia 23 stycznia 2008 r., w środę., o godz. 19.07, w nocy IFR, Komisja Badania Wypadków Lotniczych Lotnictwa Państwowego, Warszawa, 20 marca 2008, pages 27-35 Military experts had qualified it as "the safest plane of the Polish air force".{{Cite web|url=https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/01/24/internacional/1201165500.html|title = Veinte muertos en Polonia al estrellarse un avión militar fabricado por la española CASA | elmundo.es}}
Aftermath
The Polish defence minister Bogdan Klich dismissed five air force personnel after the accident investigation concluded that multiple failings contributed to the crash.{{cite news |title=Polish air force dismisses five personnel following C-295 crash report |publisher= Flight Global |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/04/14/222917/polish-air-force-dismisses-five-personnel-following-c-295-crash.html |date=14 April 2008}}
See also
Notes
{{reflist}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 2008}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Poland}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polish Air Force C-295 crash}}
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 2008
Category:Accidents and incidents involving the EADS CASA C-295
Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Poland
Category:History of Poland (1989–present)
Category:January 2008 in Poland
Category:2008 disasters in Poland
Category:Accidents and incidents involving military aircraft