ČSA Flight 540 was a regular international service from

Prague 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 ...

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

via

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

and

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

. The flight, operated by Ilyushin Il-62 ''Brno Trade Fair'', was on approach to runway 23R at Damascus International Airport on 20 August 1975, descending in clear weather, when it crashed from the airport. The aircraft broke up and caught fire on impact; 126 of the 128 passengers and crew on board died in the accident in Syria's worst ever air disaster, also the worst air disaster for the airline. The cause of the crash was determined to be the flight crew's failure to maintain the minimum flight altitude.

References

External links

ČSA Flight 540 at PlaneCrashinfo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:CSA Flight 540 Aviation accidents and incidents in 1975 Czech Airlines accidents and incidents Aviation accidents and incidents in Syria 1975 in Syria Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain Accidents and incidents involving the Ilyushin Il-62 August 1975 events in Asia 1975 disasters in Syria