Syrian Arab Airlines Flight 501
.jpg) YK-AFK, the plane involved in the accident | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 20, 2012 |
| Summary | Mid-air collision |
| Site | Near Duma, Syria |
| Total fatalities | 4[1] |
| First aircraft | |
| Type | Airbus A320-232[2] |
| Name | Amrit |
| Operator | Syrian Arab Airlines |
| Registration | YK-AFK[1] |
| Flight origin | Damascus Airport, Syria |
| Destination | Latakia Airport, Syria |
| Occupants | 200[1] |
| Passengers | 180 |
| Crew | 20 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 200 |
| Second aircraft | |
| Type | Mil Mi-17 |
| Operator | Syrian Air Force |
| Occupants | 2 |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 4 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Syrian Arab Airlines Flight 501 was a scheduled passenger flight of an Airbus A320-232, registration YK-AFK, from Damascus Airport to Latakia Airport in Syria. On 20 September 2012, during the climb after takeoff from Damascus, it was struck by the rotor of a Mil Mi-17 helicopter of the Syrian Air Force, and cut off half of the vertical section of the tail. The plane managed to return to Damascus airport, where it landed without further incident. However, the helicopter crashed, killing both of its pilots.
Aircraft
[edit]The aircraft was a civil twin-engine jet Airbus A320-232,[1] operated by Syria's flag carrier, Syrian Arab Airlines,[1] under the registration YK-AKF.[1][2]
It was produced by the European aircraft plant "Airbus" in the European Union as the Airbus A320 and was in service since 1999, that is, for twelve years and eleven months.[1]
The military helicopter involved was a Mil Mi-17, although some sources also reported a Mil Mi-8. The Mil Mi-17 is a subtype of the Mil Mi-8. Four members of the Syrian Air Force were traveling on board the helicopter. The helicopter's registration number was not released.
Passengers and crew
[edit]The plane was carrying about one hundred and eighty passengers and about twenty crew members from Damascus to the town of Latakia in the north of the country, within Syria,[1] on a regular passenger flight.[1][2]
The two helicopter pilots died in the accident, leaving the two hundred occupants of the plane unharmed.[1][2]
Accident
[edit]The Airbus A320-232 was in the climb phase from Damascus Airport on a scheduled passenger flight to Latakia, Syria.[1] During this ascent phase, a military helicopter, returning from a mission to attack rebel troops, impacted one of its main rotors on the vertical drift of the commercial aircraft, splitting it in half. The commercial plane managed to make an emergency landing at Damascus airport without any major incidents. The military helicopter crashed in the Douma area, killing both pilots on the ground.[2][1]