.jpg) A helicopter belonging to the same operator, the Government of Poland | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 4 December 2003 (2003-12-04) |
| Summary | Dual engine failure due to icing, resulting in crash |
| Site | Pilawa, Poland |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Mil Mi-8P |
| Operator | Government of Poland |
| Registration | 632 |
| Flight origin | Southern Poland (Specific airport unknown) |
| Destination | Unknown |
| Occupants | 15 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 14 |
| Survivors | 15 |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "2003 Polish Air Force Mil Mi-8 crash" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
On 4 December 2003, a Polish Mi-8 helicopter operated by the 36th Special Aviation Regiment carrying Poland's Prime Minister Leszek Miller crashed near Piaseczno, just outside Warsaw. The pilot performed an autorotation landing in a forest following the failure of both engines. The helicopter suffered extensive damage and was written off as a total loss, but despite the severity of the crash there were no fatalities. Fourteen of the 15 people on board were injured, including Leszek Miller, who had two of his thoracic vertebrae broken.
Background
Aircraft
The helicopter was a 26-year-old Mil Mi-8P, and was close to the end of its service life. It belonged to the 36th Special Aviation Regiment responsible for transporting Polish government officials.
Crew
The pilot of the helicopter was major Marek Miłosz, later promoted to lieutenant colonel.
Cause
The cause of the engine failure was determined to be icing.
Trial
On 10 March 2004, Miłosz was criminally charged with violating flight safety rules and causing the crash. Specifically, the pilot was blamed for not manually turning on the deicing equipment during the flight. The pilot argued that the meteorologic information available to him at the time did not indicate that icing was likely, and hence he was not required to turn on the deicing equipment. He was consulting a thermometer during the flight, but it suffered from a systematic measurement error and hence was unable to warn of icing. In addition, during the flight an unusual thermal inversion occurred; the temperature rose with altitude, which the pilot could not have predicted. In March 2010, the 6-year trial ended with a verdict of not guilty. The judge in the case noted the pilot expertly carried out the difficult autorotation landing and that the passengers survived because of his superb piloting skills. Leszek Miller declared that if he had to fly again in a helicopter in difficult atmospheric conditions, he would choose Miłosz as his pilot.
See also
- 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash, where the Polish president and many politicians, military officers and clerics from Poland died
References
- ^ "Pilot Millera niewinny. - Miller's pilot not guilty". TVN24. 2010-03-22. Archived from the original on 2010-03-27. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
- "Accident Mil Mi-8P 632, Thursday 4 December 2003". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
- "Polish plane crash highlights 'lamentable' fleet". Reuters India. 2010-04-10. Archived from the original on April 13, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
- "Miller: z ppłk. Miłoszem poleciałbym i drugi raz - Miller: I would fly a second time with Lieutenant Colonel Miłosz". Gazeta Wyborcza. Retrieved 2010-04-11.
| Aviation accidents and incidents in 2003 (2003) | |
|---|---|
| Jan 8 Turkish Airlines Flight 634Jan 8 Air Midwest Flight 5481Jan 9 TANS Perú Flight 222Feb 19 Iran Ilyushin Il-76 crashMar 6 Air Algérie Flight 6289Mar 15 Air China Flight 112May 8 Congo air disasterMay 25 Boeing 727-223 disappearanceMay 26 Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230May 29 QantasLink Flight 1737Jun 22 Brit Air Flight 5672Jul 8 Sudan Airways Flight 139Aug 24 Tropical Airways Flight 1301Aug 26 Colgan Air Flight 9446Nov 22 Baghdad DHL attempted shootdownDec 4 Polish Air Force Mil Mi-8 crashDec 18 FedEx Express Flight 647Dec 25 UTA Flight 141 | |
| 2002 ◄ ► 2004 |
52°02′08″N 21°04′06″E / 52.03556°N 21.06833°E / 52.03556; 21.06833
Categories: