Iberia Airlines Flight 610
Encyclopedia
On 19 February 1985, Iberia Flight 610 crashed into a television antenna at 3356 feet which was on the summit of Mount Oiz in Vizcaya near Bilbao. The flight took off from Madrid-Barajas Airport destined for Bilbao Airport
. All 141 passengers and 7 crew died in the crash. The plane was a Boeing 727-256
.
. This particular aircraft's registration was EC-DDU. EC-DDU was commissioned on 18 May, 1979 and had flown 13408 hours. The Boeing 727-256
model has three Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A turbine engines, and can carry 189 passengers.
"Their (pilots) confidence on the automatic capture performed by the Altitude Alert System, the misinterpretation of its warnings, as well as a probable misreading of the altimeter made the crew fly below the safety altitude, colliding into the television antennas' base, thus losing the left wing, falling to the ground with no possible control of the aircraft.".
Bilbao Airport
Bilbao Airport is a public airport located north of Bilbao, in the municipality of Loiu, in the Basque Country. It is the most important airport of the Basque Country and northern Spain, with 4,172,903 passengers on 2008...
. All 141 passengers and 7 crew died in the crash. The plane was a Boeing 727-256
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
.
The Aircraft
The aircraft, named "Alhambra de Granada", was a Boeing 727-256, a variant of the Boeing 727Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
. This particular aircraft's registration was EC-DDU. EC-DDU was commissioned on 18 May, 1979 and had flown 13408 hours. The Boeing 727-256
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is a mid-size, narrow-body, three-engine, T-tailed commercial jet airliner, manufactured by Boeing. The Boeing 727 first flew in 1963, and for over a decade more were built per year than any other jet airliner. When production ended in 1984 a total of 1,832 aircraft had been produced...
model has three Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A turbine engines, and can carry 189 passengers.
The Flight
The Flight departed from Barajas-Madrid International at 08.47am and was scheduled to land at 09:35 at Bilbao airport. While on a standard approach into Bilbao at 4300 ft, the crew switched on the Altitude Alert System whilst flying through overcast and rainy weather. The terrain alarm went off when the plane reached 4040 ft, the captain interpreted this to be the approach alert mode alarm and ignored it and continued the descent. The aircraft collided with an antenna tower at 3356 ft, shearing off its left wing, and then crashed into terrain, killing all on board.Cause
Investigators blamed the cause of the crash on the misinterpreted data and the pilots flying the aircraft below the safety altitude, pilot error."Their (pilots) confidence on the automatic capture performed by the Altitude Alert System, the misinterpretation of its warnings, as well as a probable misreading of the altimeter made the crew fly below the safety altitude, colliding into the television antennas' base, thus losing the left wing, falling to the ground with no possible control of the aircraft.".