LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055, scheduled to carry passengers from Warsaw to New York City with a stopover in San Francisco, took off with 172 passengers and 11 crew members on board.
On a seemingly ordinary spring day in Poland, May 9th, 1987, a routine transatlantic flight turned into a national tragedy.
However, just 56 minutes later, the Ilyushin Il-62M aircraft plummeted into the Kabaty Woods nature reserve on the outskirts of Warsaw, leaving no survivors.
This crash remains the deadliest aviation disaster in Polish history, as well as the worst accident involving the Ilyushin Il-62 passenger jet.
A Flawed Takeoff and Urgent Instructions
The flight began uneventfully, taking off from Warsaw Okęcie Airport at 10:18 AM local time.
As Flight 5055 climbed, air traffic control (ATC) instructed the crew to reach an altitude of 18,000 ft (5,500 meters) as quickly as possible.
This unexpected change in course raised concerns among some aviation experts.
The urgency of the instruction suggested a potential issue with Warsaw’s airspace, possibly due to bad weather or military activity.
However, the exact reason for the sudden rerouting remains unclear.
A Crippling Engine Failure
Shortly after the climb to 18,000 ft, disaster struck.
The aircraft’s right engine, a Soloviev D-30KU, suffered a catastrophic failure.
Faulty bearings within the engine caused a shaft to disintegrate, triggering a chain reaction of events.
The disintegration caused severe damage to the surrounding wing structure, throwing the plane into a violent spiral dive.
The crew desperately fought to regain control, but the damage was too extensive.
The crippled aircraft, now flying erratically, turned back towards Warsaw, likely in a last-ditch attempt to make an emergency landing.
However, the combined forces of the engine failure and the resulting aerodynamic instability made any recovery impossible.
A Devastating Impact and Aftermath
At 11:14 AM, LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055 slammed into the Kabaty Woods nature reserve at a high velocity.
The impact caused a massive explosion and fire, leaving no survivors.
The crash site was a horrific scene, with the wreckage scattered over a large area.
Recovering the remains of the victims proved a difficult task, with a third never being fully recovered.
The accident sparked a major investigation by Polish and international aviation authorities.
It was determined that the engine failure, caused by faulty bearings in the Soloviev D-30KU engine, was the primary cause of the crash.
The investigation also revealed potential maintenance issues with the engine, raising questions about LOT Polish Airlines’ safety protocols.
The Legacy of LOT Flight 5055
The crash of LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055 was a devastating blow to Poland.
The nation mourned the loss of 183 lives, including passengers from both Poland and the United States.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, significant changes were implemented to improve aviation safety standards in Poland.
The accident also led to a reevaluation of the Soloviev D-30KU engine, with modifications being made to address the bearing issue that caused the failure in Flight 5055.
Today, the memory of those lost on LOT Flight 5055 lives on.
A monument stands at the crash site in the Kabaty Woods, serving as a permanent reminder of the tragedy.
The accident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of aviation safety and the devastating consequences that can result from mechanical failure.
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