1948 Gatow air disaster
The 1948 Gatow air disaster was a mid-air collision in the airspace above Berlin, Germany that occurred on 5 April, sparking an international incident. A British European Airways (BEA) Vickers VC.1B Viking airliner crashed near RAF Gatow air base, after being struck by a Soviet Air Force Yakovlev Yak-3 fighter aircraft. All ten passengers and four crew on board the Viking were killed, as was the Soviet pilot. The disaster resulted in a diplomatic standoff between the United Kingdom and United States on one hand, and the Soviet Union on the other, and intensified distrust leading up to the Berlin Blockade in the early years of the Cold War.
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 April 1948 |
| Summary | Mid-air collision |
| Site | near RAF Gatow Berlin, Germany 52.474°N 13.138°E |
| Total fatalities | 15 |
| Total survivors | 0 |
| First aircraft | |
| A BEA Vickers Viking 1B similar to the accident aircraft at Manchester in August 1952 | |
| Type | Vickers 610 Viking 1B |
| Operator | British European Airways |
| Registration | G-AIVP |
| Flight origin | United Kingdom |
| Destination | RAF Gatow |
| Passengers | 10 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Second aircraft | |
| A Yak-3 similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Type | Yakovlev Yak-3 |
| Operator | Soviet Air Force |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Survivors | 0 |
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