LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055

SP-LBG, the aircraft involved in the accident, three weeks before the crash, seen at London Heathrow Airport
Accident
Date	9 May 1987
Summary	Uncontained engine failure leading to in-flight fire and destruction of control systems
Site	Kabaty Woods nature reserve, near Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport, Warsaw, Poland 52°06′48″N 21°02′40″E / 52.11333°N 21.04444°E / 52.11333; 21.04444
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Ilyushin Il-62M
Aircraft name	Tadeusz Kościuszko
Operator	LOT Polish Airlines
IATA flight No.	LO5055
ICAO flight No.	LOT5055
Call sign	LOT 5055
Registration	SP-LBG
Flight origin	Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport, Warsaw, Poland
Stopover	John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, New York, United States
Destination	San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California, United States
Occupants	183
Passengers	172
Crew	11
Fatalities	183
Survivors	0

LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Warsaw to New York City. In the late-morning hours of 9 May 1987, the Ilyushin Il-62M operating the flight crashed in the Kabaty Woods nature reserve on the outskirts of Warsaw around 56 minutes after departure. All 183 passengers and crew on board were killed in the crash, making it the deadliest accident involving an Ilyushin Il-62, and the deadliest aviation disaster in Polish history.^[1]

The accident was determined to have been caused by the disintegration of an engine shaft due to faulty bearings. This led to a catastrophic failure of the two left engines and then an onboard fire, both of which eventually destroyed all flight-control systems.^[2]