ČSA Flight 523, operated by an

Ilyushin Il-18D The Ilyushin Il-18 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-18; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known and most durable Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world ...

, was a scheduled flight from

Prague Ruzyně International Airport Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oc ...

(PRG/LKPR),

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

via Shannon Airport and

Gander International Airport Gander International Airport is located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and is operated by the Gander International Airport Authority. Canadian Forces Base Gander shares the airfield but is a separate entity from the airport. The ...

, with 69 people on board, on 5 September 1967 it crashed on climb-out from Gander.

Crash

On 5 September 1967, ČSA Flight 523 crashed on climb-out from

, after being re-fuelled for the final leg of the flight. The aircraft took off from runway 14 climbing at an abnormally shallow angle. The aircraft struck a supporting wire of a mast, climbed to , then started to dive, hitting the ground at a speed of approximately , hit a railway embankment past the end of the runway, caught fire and broke into pieces. Four crewmen and 33 passengers were killed. The aircraft was new, manufactured in April 1967, having flown only 766 hours. The crew, replaced by a fresh one in Gander, consisted of a captain with over 17,000 hours experience (over 5,000 on the Il-18), familiar with the airport as he had been flying there since 1962, and a co-pilot with over 10,000 hours experience.

Investigation

The investigation of the incident started immediately; Czechoslovak and Soviet experts, including Genrikh Novozhilov from Ilyushin and the Czech World War II fighter pilot

František Fajtl Lieutenant General František Fajtl (20 August 1912 – 4 October 2006) was a Czech fighter pilot of World War II. He was a British Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron and wing commander and led a group of Czechoslovak fighter pilots who formed an ai ...

, also took part in it. Several possibilities were discussed but the cause of the accident was never determined.

Memorials

As the accident occurred during

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, the Czechoslovakian government afterwards donated its Expo pavilion to the government of Newfoundland as a gesture of gratitude for rescue efforts following the crash. The pavilion was moved to Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, where it was opened in 1971. It remains in use as the Gordon Pinsent Centre for the Arts. In 2015 a memorial plaque was unveiled in Gander to honour the crash victims.

References

External links

ICAO circular
{{DEFAULTSORT:CSA Flight 523 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1967 Czech Airlines accidents and incidents Accidents and incidents involving the Ilyushin Il-18 Airliner accidents and incidents in Canada Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador 1967 in Newfoundland and Labrador