Lost in the echoes of tragedy, we stand near the site of LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007’s devastating crash. LOT Flight 007 was an Ilyushin Il-62. It crashed near Warsaw-Okecie Airport on March 14, 1980. The crash occurred as the crew aborted a landing. They attempted a go-around. All 77 passengers and 10 crew members died.
The cause of this tragedy was a disintegration. It involved one of the turbine discs in one of the plane’s engines. This led to uncontained engine failure. The turbine disc later revealed manufacturing faults.
LOT initiated transatlantic routes in the early 1970s. They purchased Ilyushin Il-62s for this purpose. The aircraft that crashed was the first Il-62 LOT purchased. It was manufactured in 1971.
All crew members of LOT Flight 007 were Polish. Captain Paweł Lipowczan was 46 years old. He had 8,770 flight hours. 4,385 of those hours were on Ilyushin Il-62s. The first officer was Tadeusz Łochocki. Other crew members included Jan Łubniewski, Konstanty Chorzewski, and Stefan Wąsiewicz. There were five flight attendants.
On its final flight, Captain Lipowczan and First Officer Łochocki were piloting. LOT Flight 007 was to depart from Kennedy International Airport around 19:00 local time on March 13, 1980. A heavy snowstorm delayed the flight. It departed at 21:18. After nine uneventful hours, it approached Warsaw-Okecie Airport at 11:13 local time.
During their final approach, one minute before landing, the crew reported a problem. The landing gear indicator light was not operating. They would go around. The flight engineer would check the issue. Was it a burnt-out fuse or a gear deployment problem?
Here’s the last transmission from LOT 007.
Okęcie Air Traffic Control: LOT 007, 5 degrees to the right.
Okęcie ATC: LOT 007?
LOT: Roger that… One moment, we have some problems with landing-gear-down-and-locked indicator, request a go-around.
Okęcie ATC: Roger, runway heading and altitude 650 metres.
LOT: Runway heading and 650.
Nine seconds later, the aircraft entered a steep dive. At 11:14:35, after 26 seconds of uncontrolled descent, the aircraft clipped a tree with its right wing. It impacted the ice-covered moat of a 19th-century military fortress. The speed was approximately 380 km/h at a 20-degree down angle. This was 950 meters from the runway threshold.
Captain Lipowczan avoided a correctional facility for teenagers at Rozwojowa Street. On impact, the aircraft disintegrated. The main hull submerged in the moat. The tail landed a few meters further.
Among the 87 fatalities were Polish singer Anna Jantar and a contingent of the U.S. amateur boxing team. They were scheduled for fights in Europe.
The number-two engine was found cut in half. The turbine disc was missing. It was found 4 kilometers from the site. It was broken into three pieces.
The Polish government’s commission found defects in materials. There were faults in the manufacturing of the Kuznetsov NK-8 jet engine’s shaft. There were weaknesses in the turbine design.
The disaster serves as a reminder. It highlights the critical importance of aviation safety and the far-reaching consequences of mechanical failure.