Garuda Indonesia Flight 035

Garuda Indonesia Flight 035

A Garuda Indonesia Douglas DC-9, The sister ship of the aircraft
Accident
Date	4 April 1987
Summary	Crashed on approach in bad weather
Site	Medan Airport, Indonesia
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Douglas DC-9-32
Aircraft name	Pawan(until 1986)
Operator	Garuda Indonesia
Registration	PK-GNQ
Flight origin	Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport, Banda Aceh Indonesia
Destination	Polonia Airport, Medan Indonesia
Passengers	37
Crew	8
Fatalities	23
Injuries	22
Survivors	22

Garuda Indonesia Flight 035 was a domestic Garuda Indonesia flight that struck a pylon and crashed on approach to Medan-Polonia Airport on 4 April 1987.[1] 23 of the 45 passengers and crew on board were killed in the accident.

Accident

The aircraft was on an Instrument Landing System approach to Medan Airport in a thunderstorm.[2] The aircraft struck electrical power lines and crashed short of the runway. The aircraft broke up and the tail section separated and fire broke out.[3]

Most of the survivors escaped through breaks in the fuselage and 11 were flung free of the aircraft.[3] Four of the eight crew died and 19 passengers suffered fatal injuries due to smoke inhalation and burns.[3] Four crew and 18 passengers suffered serious injuries.[3] All of the fatalities were a result of the fire and not due to the impact with the ground.[3]

Aircraft

The flight was carried out by a 1976-built Douglas DC-9-32 registered PK-GNQ. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off.[4] This registration was later given to a Boeing 737-800, also operated by Garuda Indonesia.

References

1. UK CAA Document CAA 429 World Airline Accident Summary
2. "Garuda loses DC-9". Flight International: 2. 11 April 1987.
3. "CAA Paper 2002/04 A benefit analysis for Cabin water spray systems and enhanced fuselage burnthrough protection" (PDF). United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority. 7 April 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
4. Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network