Incident Overview
Date: Friday 6 August 1937
Aircraft Type: Douglas DC-2-152
Owner/operator: Aeroflot, International Civil Aviation Directorate
Registration Number: URSS-M25
Location: near Herina, Bistrita-Nasaud County –
ÿ Romania
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
Component Affected: Aircraft engine and fuel system.Aircraft engine and fuel system.
Category: Accident
A passenger ignited a cigarette in the toilet during an in-flight explosion and fire, resulting in a catastrophic crash into a forest. The aircraft, operating from Moscow to Prague with an en route stop in Ukraine, was likely launched from Cluj, Romania. The pilot attempted to escape the fire by jumping off the aircraft at altitude.A passenger ignited a cigarette in the toilet during an in-flight explosion and fire, resulting in a catastrophic crash into a forest. The aircraft, operating from Moscow to Prague with an en route stop in Ukraine, was likely launched from Cluj, Romania. The pilot attempted to escape the fire by jumping off the aircraft at altitude.
Description
The aircraft crashed into a forest following an in-flight explosion and fire. It appeared a passenger lit a cigarette in the toilet, were avgas fumes had accumulated. One of the passenger jumped off the plane at altitude trying to escape fire. Local sources at the time reported that the aircraft operated on a flight from Moscow to Prague with an en route stop in Ukraine. Other sources claim the flight had departed Bucharest en route to Moscow. The accident location is about 64 km northeast of Cluj and 220 km north-northwest of Bucharest. This would support the theory that the aircraft had taken off from Cluj, en route towards Moscow.
Primary Cause
In-flight explosion and fire caused by accumulated avgas fumes.In-flight explosion and fire caused by accumulated avgas fumes.Share on:
