The crash of Avro 146 near Bassersdorf is a plane crash that occurred on Saturday , November 24, 2001 . Aviation airliner Avro 146-RJ100 Regional Jet airlines Crossair made a flight LX3597 on the route Berlin - Zurich , but when approaching landing fell into the forest 4 kilometers from Zurich airport . Of the 33 people on board (28 passengers and 5 crew members), 24 died, 9 survived, injured.
| Flight 3597 Crossair | |
|---|---|
 Memorial Flight 3597 | |
| General information | |
| date | November 24, 2001 |
| Time | 22:07 CET |
| Character | Landing approach crash |
| Cause | Crew error |
| A place |  Bassersdorf , 4 km from Zurich Airport , Zurich ( Switzerland ) |
| Coordinates | |
| Dead | 24 |
| Wounded | 9 |
| Aircraft | |
 Crashed plane 4 months before the crash | |
| Model | Avro 146-RJ100 Regional Jet |
| Airline | Crossair |
| Departure point |  Berlin-Tegel , Berlin ( Germany ) |
| Destination | Zurich ( Switzerland ) |
| Flight | Lx3597 |
| Board number | HB-IXM |
| Date of issue | August 16, 1996 (first flight) |
| The passengers | 28 |
| Crew | five |
| Survivors | 9 |
Content
Airplane
Avro 146-RJ100 Regional Jet (registration number HB-IXM, factory E3291, serial 291) was released in 1996 (made the first flight on August 16). August 22 of the same year was transferred to the airline Crossair . Equipped with four Lycoming LF507-1F turbofan engines . On the day of the catastrophe made 11,518 “takeoff-landing” cycles and flew for 13,194 hours [1] [2] .
Crew and passengers
The plane was flown by an experienced crew, the composition of which was as follows:
- The commander of the aircraft (FAC) - 57-year-old Hans-Ulrich Lutz ( it. Hans-Ulrich Lutz ). A very experienced pilot, he worked for Crossair for 22 years and 9 months (since January 28, 1979). Managed aircraft SA-226, SA-227 , Saab 340 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 . In the post of commander Avro 146-RJ100 - since 1994. I flew 19,555 hours, 19,441 of them on the Avro 146-RJ100.
- The co - pilot is 25-year-old Stefan Löhrer ( German: Stefan Löhrer ). An experienced pilot, he worked for Crossair for 1 year and 4 months (since July 9, 2000). In the position of co-pilot Avro 146-RJ100 - from January 8, 2001 (besides, he had experience piloting this plane as a PIC). I flew 490 hours, all on Avro 146-RJ100 (81 of them as FAC).
In the cabin of the aircraft worked three cabin crew .
| Citizenship | The passengers | Crew | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | one | 0 | one |
| Germany | ten | 0 | ten |
| Ghana | one | 0 | one |
| Israel | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Netherlands | one | 0 | one |
| Switzerland | 2 | five | 7 |
| Spain | one | 0 | one |
| Sweden | one | 0 | one |
| USA / Germany | one | 0 | one |
| Not specified | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Total | 28 | five | 33 |
Among the passengers on board were:
- “ Passion Fruit ”, a famous German female pop group consisting of:
- Maria Serrano-Serrano ( eng. Maria Serrano-Serrano ),
- Deborah "Debbie" Saint-Maarten ( English Deborah "Debby" St. Maarten ),
- Nathalie Van Het Ende ( Eng. Nathalyie van Het Ende ).
- Melanie Thornton ( eng. Melanie Thornton ), soloist of the popular group " La Bouche ". She flew to Zurich to participate in the promotion of her song “Wonderful Dream (Holidays Are Coming)” and her first solo album, “Ready To Fly” (“Ready to Fly”).
Catastrophe
Flight LX3597 flew from Berlin to Zurich at 21:01 CET.
Due to bad weather conditions, the crew did not find runway number 28 of the Zurich Airport. The runway was supposed to be closed to receive airplanes, but an inexperienced dispatcher (the only one that night at Zurich airport) did not dare to completely close the airport or open another runway that was closed at night due to complaints from residents of the surrounding houses. Instead, she continued to lead flight 3597 to lane 28.
The commander continued his descent and decided too late to go to the second round, with the result that at 22:07 CET, the flight of the LX3597 right wing touched the tops of the trees and one engine (the last extreme) caught fire. The plane continued to decline and eventually crashed into the ground and completely collapsed. Of the 33 people on board the aircraft, 24 died (21 passengers and 3 crew members - both pilots and flight attendants), the remaining 9 people (7 passengers and 2 flight attendants) survived, injured.
Among the 24 dead were two soloists of the Passion Fruit group (Maria Serrano-Serrano and Nathalie Van Het Ende) and soloist of the La Bouche group Melanie Thornton.
Investigation
The investigation of the causes of the crash of flight LX3597 was taken up by the Swiss Bureau of Accident Investigation (AAIB) .
Cultural Aspects
The crash of flight 3597 was shown in the 10th season of a Canadian documentary television series Investigations of air crashes in the series Last pilot error .
Notes
Links
- Description of the crash at Aviation Safety Network
- Final Report on the crash ( Archive ) - Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)
- Crossair Status of the Accident Investigation