Date & Time:
Dec 24, 1958 at 2159 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lockheed L-749 Constellation
Operator:
Registration:
F-BAZX
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Paris – Munich – Vienna
MSN:
2527
YOM:
1947
Country:
Austria
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
6
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
28
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from Munich, the crew started an ILS approach to Vienna-Schwechat runway 30. On final, the captain made a visual circuit when ground contact was apparently lost, causing the airplane to lose height. On short final, the Constellation crash landed in a field 2,2 km short of runway 30 threshold and came to rest. All 34 occupants were rescued and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Probable cause:
It is possible to establish that there was no question of a technical malfunction, and that the flight crew lost sight of the ground in the base leg turn, at which time the aircraft adopted an abnormal attitude for this manoeuvre which led to the crash. Presumably the accident could have been avoided through immediate discontinuation of the approach procedure (immediate changeover to climb - heading for radio beacon OEW) following loss of visibility.
