Accident Overview
Interflug flight 102, an Ilyushin Il-62M, was destroyed in a runway excursion during takeoff from Berlin-Schönefeld Airport in East Germany. The aircraft carried 113 occupants, of which 21 were killed. All 10 crew members survived.
Sequence of Events
At 06:20 local time, the engines were started. Immediately after, the flight control surfaces were unlocked, a process that, according to the cockpit voice recorder, was not completed. The crew did not perform the required check of the warning panel regarding the elevator condition. During taxiing, the captain twice checked the movement of the elevators but failed to notice they were locked.
The aircraft was cleared for takeoff from runway 25L. Due to the low takeoff mass of 113 tons, the engines were set to rated power. At 06:28:05, the aircraft reached VR. The captain pulled the control column at VR, but the aircraft did not respond. Four seconds later, he called to abort the takeoff, at which time the aircraft had accelerated to 293 km/h. Instead of using reverse thrust, the flight engineer shut down all four engines. The speed then reached 303 km/h, with about 940 meters of runway remaining.
The aircraft overran the runway end at 262 km/h, slightly to the left of the centerline. During emergency braking, five tires of the main landing gear were destroyed. The aircraft crossed a 40 cm deep excavation pit, causing the right main landing gear to collapse. It subsequently collided with a water tank, concrete piles of the airport fence, a road embankment, and six trees. At 06:28:37, the aircraft came to rest and burst into flames.
Aftermath
Within two minutes, 82 passengers were rescued alive from the fuselage, which had broken into three parts. All 10 crew members survived. The aircraft was destroyed.
Investigation
The official investigation was unable to determine the exact cause of the accident. A technical problem with the rudder controls or components could not be excluded, and an error on the part of the flying crew could not be proven.