This Plane Melted In The Air (Worst Air Disaster In German History) - DISASTER BREAKDOWN

You don’t need me to tell you how devastating a fire can be, especially if that fire is on board an aeroplane. For example your House was on fire, you can escape. If you are travelling on an airplane and an uncontrollable fire breaks out, you have nowhere to go. You are at the mercy of the skill of the pilots and clock to ensure your survival. Some of the most horrific air disasters that have ever occurred have involved inflight fires. Perhaps amongst the most devastating and terrifying cases in this category is the disaster we’re discussing today.
The era of history that we know as the Cold War, a lot of images probably spring to mind. The city of Berlin, today the German Capital, was pretty much at the epicenter of a division between East and West. The city itself was divided in two, the West side of the city, an exclave of West Germany within the east. A wall separated the two. This split was in part a result from the events of the Second World War. After the war the Soviet Union occupied the Eastern half of the city and indeed East Germany as a whole, aside from West Berlin. The Soviet Union wanted to expand their sphere of influence. East Germany became a puppet state like other countries in Eastern Europe
East Germany for this era of history was a separate country from the rest of Germany. It had all the things you’d expect a different country to have. Its own government, its own infrastructure, its own currency and of course to lead onto our topic today, its own airline. The East German airline was called Interflight or in German Interflug. Interflug operated between the years of 1958 and 1991 and were based out of what was known as the time as Berlin Schönefeld airport. As East Germany was under the influence of the Soviet Union, the aircraft they operated were Czech, Russian and Ukrainian made.
The Soviet Union throughout the 1950s and 1960s, much like other countries were developing their own aviation technology as things transitioned into the jet age. In 1963, the Soviet Union unveiled what was at the time, the largest passenger plane ever made. A four rear mounted engine jetliner called the Ilyushin IL-62.

#aviation

Sources:

[robertmcghintheorca]

Never heard of this one, but it sounds utterly horrific and gruesome.

[TheMostIronicOfSilvers]

Fires on Airplanes have always.. terrified me. Just the thought of being unable to do anything as the fire consumes the aircraft is just horrific. The horrid smoke and flames that would otherwise be easier to deal with on land are much more deadly and dangerous in the air. No matter if the crew is well trained or not, its almost always a losing bet.

You certainly have done the telling of this terrible incident justice.

I also heavily appreciate how you give background details and such in a very fluent manner that fits seamlessly in the video. Thank you for the stellar upload once again, Clohe! I’ve been following your content for about 7 months now and dang, each upload gets better and better.

[apollodash]

Crazy they became aware at 51 and lost control at 59. Eight minutes. Flying heavy cargo in the US we’re taught if there’s an uncontrolled fire on board you have 7 minutes to get on the ground at all costs. Not necessarily land, just get the plane on the ground. Seven is the number from historical data on crashes by fire by the FAA . Luckily we have better fire detection and extinguishing these days! As well as better bleed monitoring! ♨️

[manuelweisshand]

My mother grew up in east Germany and this plane crash, was and still is well known till this day in the eastern parts of Germany.

[fliegenistdassicherste]

Can you make a video of Saudia Flight 163. The plane landed safely, but nobody survived.

[RonZon-oi]

I just discovered your channel and am blown away. The detail, context and narrative you provide for the incidents you cover are second to none. I follow a lot of air flight disaster channels and I thought I’d seen just about everything, but your channel has been a revelation. Excellent work!

[manus.]

Thank you, Chloe, for covering both of the notable air disasters that happened in my country.
Once again, fantastic job despite the lack of material. Keep up the amazing work!

[trekaddict]

Minor point of order: The Restaurant in Leipzig ceased operations in 2022, likely due to COVID, but is now in use as part of a nearby refugee facility, and there's one IL 62 that an absolute madlad of a pilot successfully landed on a grass strip that was only 900 metres long, which is now also on display. This was done in honour of Otto Lilienthal a German 19th Century aviation pioneer who died while testing a glider near the same town.

[gloriaruth]

Thank you so much for this video.

I saw a German documentary on this accident, but I always wanted more information about it. I was disappointed that no one else had covered this incident. Thank you so much for the additional insight.

[brianedwards]

It was nice to hear a story that wasn't so well known. I like your delivery and thoroughness.

[asan]

You should make a video on LOT flight 5055. It's also an Il-62, it was also caused by a fire, and it's the deadliest disaster of Poland too. It's also very disturbing if you listen to the ATC recording and the transcript

[billymeeker]

Your show is so well put together and presented, as well as informative, historical, respectful and fascinating. Thank you

[JiisuriG]

Thanks for bringing this story to the English speaking floks. I think this one is largely unknown to Non-Germans or even Non-East Germans. A have a few connections to this disaster. For one, a friend of my father was booked onto this flight to Burgas. Fortunately for him he didn't make the flight because he fell ill the day before. He saw this as a sign and never flew again. The other connection I have is an old colleague. I used to work in the hangar at Schönefeld which was previously used by Interflug. Said colleague was an aircraft mechanic trainee for Interflug in 1972. He recalled how police and Stasi personell visited and questioned people and confiscated record books. Everything had to be kept absolutely confidential. All IL-62 were grounded. Ilyushin and the Soviet Union denied all accusations that errors in the construction of the aircraft led to this disaster. However not long after Ilyushin issued all IL-62 aircraft to be retrofitted with smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in that aft cargo hold as well as a little window into the cabin, located between the two aft toilets.

[pianomanhere]

Kudos to you for creating this video, which is the only one I found in English that covers this disaster in detail. You must have had to gather your information from many sources and I appreciate all the work and the end result. Very well done. 👏 👏 👍

[BytomGirl]

I was a teenager when this happened and lived near the East German border and now recall it being reported on the radio. RIP to all victims. So sad.

[micheleshively]

Never heard of this before. Thanks for doing it. Sad for the people who lost their lives! What a horrible way to go. RIP

[auntbarbara]

Wonderful presentation and production. I never knew of this one and learned a lot. Thank you for making this and bringing these videos to us. We appreciate your work.

[jonathanbakalarz]

Your videos are mesmerizing. There is a calming, soothing, quality to your narration that provides a pleasant contrast to the mounting terror being described in cold, technical, detail.

[usmale]

Absolutely horrific!! I can't imagine being in a burning plane...nightmare fuel!! Thank you for uploading and sharing!! ✈😊

[SiWaterGoblin]

Love these videos because it's clear you do a lot of research yourself and pull together many sources