- Malév Flight 240
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MALÉV flight 240 Accident summary Date September 30, 1975 Type Unknown Site Mediterranean sea, near Beirut Passengers 50 Crew 10 Fatalities 60 (all) Survivors 0 Aircraft type Tupolev Tu-154B Operator MALÉV - Hungarian Airlines Tail number HA-LCI Flight origin Budapest - Ferihegy airport Destination Beirut - Rafic Hariri airport Malév Flight 240, was a Tupolev Tu-154 tri-motor jetliner of Malév Hungarian Airlines, which was flying on the Budapest to Beirut regular route when it crashed near the Lebanese shoreline on 30 September 1975. All 50 passengers and 10 crew on board died. No official statement was ever made on the crash and its cause has never been publicly revealed.[1]
In recent years, rumors persist that the plane was shot down, either because it carried arms to some Arab group, or because it was supposed to carry the members of a PLO delegation (but in the end did not). Possible attackers include Israel or Syria.
On September 27, 2007, György Szilvásy, then Minister of Civil Intelligence Services wrote in a letter[2] to Róbert Répássy (Fidesz), member of the Hungarian Parliament, that the Hungarian Office of National Security produced a report on the crash in 2003. The report can be summarized as follows: There are no available original (secret service) documents concerning the case. The report remains top secret, for reasons not connected to the crash.
On January 6, 2009 questions relating to this crash were put forward to the European Commission.[3].
References
- ^ The Lost Flight - Malév 240 Airliners.net
- ^ Szilvásy's letter (in Hungarian)
- ^ Written question to EU Commission
External links
- Accident Synopsis » 09301975, Airdisaster.com
- An article of the Hungarian weekly Hetek.
- A harminc évvel ezelőtti Malév-katasztrófa titka
- The Lost Malev
Lists relating to aviation General Aircraft (manufacturers) · Aircraft engines (manufacturers) · Airlines (defunct) · Airports · Civil authorities · Museums · Registration prefixes · Rotorcraft (manufacturers) · TimelineMilitary Accidents/incidents Records Jun 24 Eastern Air Lines Flight 66
Aug 03 Agadir air disaster
Aug 30 Wien Air Alaska Flight 99Sep 24 Garuda Indonesia Flight 150
Sep 30 Malév Flight 240
Oct 30 Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 450Incidents resulting in at least 50 deaths shown in italics. Deadliest incident shown in bold smallcaps.Categories:- Aviation accidents and incidents in Lebanon
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 1975
- 1975 in Lebanon
- Accidents and incidents involving the Tupolev Tu-154
- Airliner accidents and incidents with an unknown cause
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