Courland (Kurzeme)

The airplane departed Jerez-La Parra Airport at 1456LT on a flight to Cologne-Bonn Airport with four people on board. It continued at an assigned altitude of 36,000 feet until it entered the German Airspace. German ATC was unable to establish a radio contact with the crew so the decision was taken to send a Panavia Tornado of the Luftwaffe that departed Rostock-Laage AFB and intercepted the Cessna at 1815LT. The military pilot did not see any one in the cockpit and evacuated the area five minutes later. The airplane overflew Germany then entered the Swedish Airspace and continued bound to the northeast without significant change in heading, altitude or speed (365 knots). At 2028LT, the airplane started to descent and initiated a turn to the right three minutes later. At 2040LT, it entered an uncontrolled descent to the left and spiraled to the sea before crashing at 2044LT about 37 km northwest of Ventspils. Few debris and oil were found at the point of impact. The accident was not survivable.

The crew was engaged in a crop-spraying mission in Saldus, Latvia. The engine failed shortly after takeoff. The crew elected to return to the airstrip when the aircraft lost height and was shifted by strong wind towards a fuel depot. At a height of 15 meters, the left lower wing collided with the roof of a diesel storage tank n°34, then the aircraft crashed into tank n°39 and exploded. Both pilots were killed. The aircraft was totally destroyed by a post crash fire.

The airplane departed Omsk on a cargo flight to Liepaja with an intermediate stop in Gorki, carrying a crew of five and a load of eight tons of radio station's components. The aircraft, not configured for cargo with no cargo door and no cargo compartment, was loaded with light components in the rear part of the cabin and heavy parts in the front of the cabin. There were no passengers on board. The crew initiated the descent to Liepaja by night and poor weather conditions with a limited visibility to 900 meters (below airport minima) with mixed rain and snow falls. On approach, at an altitude of 310 meters and at a speed of 265 km/h, flaps were lowered and the aircraft became unstable on its roll and pitch axis. At an altitude of 180 meters, the autopilot was disconnected then the aircraft deviated to the right of the approach path. While trying to establish a visual contact with the runway, the pilot-in-command initiated a slight turn to the left when the airplane adopted an excessive rate of descent of 8 meters per second until it struck tree tops located 1,690 meters short of runway threshold. The airplane stalled then struck the embankment of a railroad and eventually crashed in flames in a snow covered field located 155 meters to the right of the extended runway centerline. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire. A crew member was seriously injured while four other occupants were killed.

On final approach to Liepaja Airport, while at an altitude of 300 meters at a speed of 300 km/h, the crew was unable to locate the runway nor the approach lights. In such conditions, the captain decided to make a go-around and increased engine power when the left engine failed. The aircraft banked left to an angle of 40°. Due to high drag, it lost height then struck the snow covered ground 1,800 meters past the outer marker, bounced and struck a telegraphic pole that torn off three meters of the left wing. Out of control, it continued for 1,410 meters before crashing in flames in an open field. Eight occupants survived while 43 others were killed. The aircraft was destroyed.

The airplane left Wiesbaden Airport in Germany for an electronic surveillance mission over the Baltic Sea to localize Soviet submarines. While cruising over the Baltic Sea, the aircraft was intercepted and shot down by the pilots of four Soviet Air Force Lavochkin La-11. Out of control, it crashed into the sea about 16 km off Liepaja, Latvia. All 10 crew members were killed.

While overflying the Baltic Sea, the three engine aircraft was shot down by the pilot of a German Messerschmitt Me.109. The pilot ditched the aircraft some 13 km off Ventspils, Latvia. Three crew members were rescued and taken POW while the flight engineer Ingvar Ringström was killed. The Swedish government confirmed the aircraft was shot down over the international waters.

The airplane was shot down by enemy fire and crashed into the sea off Windau (now Ventspils). The pilot was killed and three other crew members were injured.
Crew:
Lt Achim Berger, pilot, †
Lt Heinz Müller, observer,
Gefr Albert Cramer, radio operator,
Ogefr Otto Trinkwitz, mechanic.