Olympic Airways Flight 411
SX-OAA, the aircraft involved in the accident, pictured in 1976 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | August 9, 1978 |
| Summary | Loss of speed and altitude due to engine failure and flight crew error, safely returned to airport |
| Site | |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-284B |
| Aircraft name | Olympic Zeus |
| Operator | Olympic Airways |
| IATA flight No. | OA411 |
| ICAO flight No. | OAL411 |
| Call sign | OLYMPIC 411 |
| Registration | SX-OAA |
| Flight origin | Ellinikon International Airport, Athens, Greece |
| Destination | John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, United States |
| Occupants | 418 |
| Passengers | 400 |
| Crew | 18 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 418 |
Olympic Airways Flight 411 was a domestic flight from Ellinikon International Airport bound for John F. Kennedy International Airport and operated by Olympic Airways using a Boeing 747-200. On August 9, 1978, the flight came close to crashing in downtown Athens. Despite maneuvers near the edge of the flight envelope, none of the 418 passengers and crew suffered serious injury.
Based upon review of the flight data recorder, Boeing concluded that nine seconds after takeoff, the flight crew had inadvertently turned off the water injection pumps in response to warnings, which reduced thrust. Turning off the pumps when the plane was in takeoff climb limited the plane's ability to climb. Boeing states that thrust was increased manually after 325 seconds and then the plane climbed normally.
Captain Sifis Migadis and Captain Kostas Fikardos managed to keep the aircraft in the air at an extremely low altitude below minimal speed. All Boeing simulations of the flight resulted in crashes.