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1988 Remscheid A-10 crash

Airplane crash in Germany

Field	Value
name	1988 Remscheid A-10 crash
image	1988 Remscheid A-10 crash site.jpg
image_upright	1.15
caption	1988 Remscheid A-10 crash site
date
summary	Crash during low-altitude flight
occurrence_type	Accident
site	Remscheid, West Germany
coordinates
ground_fatalities	6
ground_injuries	50
aircraft_type	A-10 Thunderbolt II
operator	United States Air Force
tail_number	81-0957
origin	Nörvenich Air Base
occupants	1
passengers	0
crew	1
fatalities	1
survivors	0

The 1988 Remscheid A-10 crash occurred on December 8, 1988, when an A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jet of the United States Air Forces in Europe crashed into a residential area in the city of Remscheid, West Germany. The aircraft crashed into the upper floor of an apartment complex. In addition to the pilot, six people were killed. Fifty others were injured, many of them seriously.

The plane was engaged in a low-altitude flight exercise. It belonged to a unit from Bentwaters Air Base but at the time of the accident was stationed at Nörvenich Air Base, a so-called Forward Operation Location (FOL).

The flight leader, Captain Marke F. Gibson, was leading his flight followed by his wingman, Captain Michael P. Foster.

The cause of the accident was attributed to spatial disorientation, after both planes encountered difficult and adverse weather conditions for visual flying. Captain Gibson was able to maneuver his aircraft to safety, but Captain Foster's aircraft crashed into the houses on Stockder Strasse.

Aftermath

When the number of cancer cases in the vicinity of the accident rose disproportionately in the years after, suspicion rose that the jet, contrary to US statements, may have been loaded with ammunition containing depleted uranium. This was denied by the US military. Despite this, 70 tons of top soil from the accident scene were removed and taken away to a depot (which also happens to be standard procedure for cleanup when a large amount of jet fuel is spilled on populated ground, such as in a plane crash). Also, film material taken during the top-soil removal showed radiation warning signs. 120 residents and rescue workers reported skin diseases, diagnosed as (toxic) contact dermatitis.

Damages accounted to approximately DM 13 million and were covered 75% by the U.S. Air Force and 25% by the West German government.

Cause

The cause of the accident was attributed to spatial disorientation, after both planes encountered difficult and adverse weather conditions for visual flying.

References

(December 8, 1988). "West Germany / United States Plane Crash NBC News broadcast".
Westminster, Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 12 Dec 1988".
(August 2009). "Major General Marke F. Gibson".
Bittorf, Wilhelm. (December 25, 1988). "Ich hab' meinen Flügelmann verloren".
(26 August 2005). "Teratogenicity of depleted uranium aerosols: A review from an epidemiological perspective". Environmental Health.
(2000). "1988 12 08 2000 hier und heute".
Markmeyer, B.. (1989-10-13). "Remscheid-Absturz mit Folgen". [[Die Tageszeitung]].
(2001-01-13). "Starb Kind wegen Uranverseuchung?".
Christiansen, Frank. (2008-12-08). "Flugzeugabsturz in Remscheid 1988: Der Schock sitzt immer noch tief".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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