Bavaria Fluggesellschaft was a West German

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 airline founded in 1957 and was merged with Germanair to become Bavaria Germanair in March 1977.

Code information

• ICAO
  International Civil Aviation Organization
  The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
  
   Code
  Airline codes
  This is a list of airline codes. The table lists the IATA airline designators, the ICAO airline designators and the airline call signs...
  
  :
• IATA
  International Air Transport Association
  The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
  
   Code: BV
• Call Sign: Bavaria

Company history

This airline was founded in 1957 as Bavaria Fluggesellschaft Schwabe & Co. In January 1958 the first aircraft, a Piper PA-23 Apache, was used for air taxi

Air taxi

An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...

 work. In 1959 the Twin Beech

Beechcraft Model 18

The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...

 was added. The Douglas DC-3

Douglas DC-3

The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...

 came in 1960 and by this time the main business was carrying freight on behalf of Lufthansa

Lufthansa

Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...

. With increased business a Handley Page Dart Herald

Handley Page Dart Herald

The Handley Page Dart Herald was a 1950s British turboprop passenger aircraft.-Design and development:In the mid 1950s the Handley Page Aircraft Company developed a new fast short-range regional airliner, intended to replace the venerable Douglas DC-3, particularly in third-world countries...

 was added in 1964 and by 1966 three were in service and about 800,000 passenger were carried that year. In order to expand, the BAC 1-11

BAC One-Eleven

The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...

 and the Handley Page Jetstream were added to the regional schedules. That aircraft was involved in a fatal accident on 6 March 1970 (see below). In 1974, a close cooperation was established with Germanair which culminated in the merger of both airlines to become Bavaria Germanair on 1 March 1977.

Historical fleet details

• Piper PA-23 Apache
• Beechcraft Twin Beech
  Beechcraft Model 18
  The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...
  
  
• Douglas DC-3
  Douglas DC-3
  The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
  
  
• Handley Page Dart Herald
  Handley Page Dart Herald
  The Handley Page Dart Herald was a 1950s British turboprop passenger aircraft.-Design and development:In the mid 1950s the Handley Page Aircraft Company developed a new fast short-range regional airliner, intended to replace the venerable Douglas DC-3, particularly in third-world countries...
  
  
• BAC 1-11
  BAC One-Eleven
  The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...
  
  
• Jetstream 31

Accident description

On 6 March 1970, D-INAH, a Handley Page Jetstream owned by Bavaria Fluggesellschaft departed Munich-Riem Airport

Munich-Riem Airport

Munich-Riem Airport was the main, international airport of Munich until it was closed down on 16 May 1992, the day before the new airport near Freising commenced operation. It was located near the old village of Riem in the Munich borough of Trudering-Riem.-History:Construction on the airport...

, West Germany, for Samedan Airport

Samedan Airport

Samedan Airport , also known as Engadin Airport, is a regional airport in Samedan in the Engadin valley of Switzerland, just 5 km from St. Moritz.At an elevation of 1,707 metres it is one of the highest airports in Europe...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. The aircraft crashed into snow about 3 km (1.9 mi) and 0.5 km (0.310686368324903 mi) left of Samedan Airport's runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

 centreline. The aircraft was written-off

Write-off

The term write-off describes a reduction in recognized value. In accounting terminology, it refers to recognition of the reduced or zero value of an asset. In income tax statements, it refers to a reduction of taxable income as recognition of certain expenses required to produce the income...

 and all nine passengers and both crew were killed. It was discovered that part of the turbine

Turbine

A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...

wheel on the number one engine had been destroyed.