Accident Sequence
At 10:18, flight LO5055 departed Warsaw runway 33 for a flight to New York-JFK. After passing the GRU VOR at FL265, the aircraft climbed to FL310. Two minutes later, at 10:41, the No. 2 engine's low-pressure turbine shaft broke, followed by the failure of the turbine disc. Debris punctured the aft fuselage, causing a fire in the cargo hold. The elevator control system was severed and the No. 1 engine had to be shut down. The flight crew immediately started an emergency descent to 4,000 meters. After shutting down both engines, the crew mistakenly thought the fire was extinguished. They had decided to land at Modlin airport, but still unaware of the fire, changed to Warsaw-Okecie runway 33 because of better rescue equipment there. The flight started a left turn for runway 33 at 11:09 at an altitude of 1,450 meters and an airspeed of 480 km/h. The crew lost control during the turn and the Il-62 crashed into a forest, 6 km from the runway, at an airspeed of 465 km/h and an 11° left bank and 12° nose-down attitude. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 183 occupants were killed.
Probable Cause
According to the official findings, the cause of the accident was the destruction of engine No. 2, which resulted in disconnection of the longitudinal control system from the control column, cabin depressurisation, damage to the electric system, and fire. At the end stage of flight, the fire caused the loss of aircraft longitudinal control and impact with the ground after 31 minutes from the beginning of the emergency situation. The destruction of engine No. 2 occurred without any signal from the warning/testing system. Under the circumstances, the crew members were not able to stop the engine in good time, consequently an emergency situation was created on board the aircraft.