Pete Collins Editor

Air Crash Investigations, Flying Coffin? the Near Crash of Olympic Airlines Flight Oa202 Pete Collins Editor

The Lockheed 1011 registered A6-BSM, operated by Star Jet and chartered by Olympic Airlines, arrived on 4 July 2005 at Terminal 1 at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Departure was delayed because the forward hold door could not be closed. A mechanic tried to close the door manually with a hammer and a chuck. Some passengers, worried about the apparent state of the cabin and the noise, asked to disembark, and this led to a mass movement. The airplane took finally off at 16h17. Shortly after departure the crew noticed problems with engine number 3. The captain requested the SEVERE DAMAGE procedure and returned to the airport. The French Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile (BEA) investigated the incident. BEA found out that the aircraft suffered from many problems, such as leaking fuel, malfunctioning safety features and lacking maintenance. The flight crew was not properly licensed, the captain was too old to fly in Europe. The Lockheed Tristar was a flying coffin.