Partnair Flight 394

Partnair Flight 394
The reconstructed wreckage of the aircraft
Accident
Date8 September 1989 (1989-09-08)
SummaryStructural failure of rudder leading to loss of control and in-flight breakup, improper maintenance
Site
  • 18 km (11 mi; 10 nmi) north of Hirtshals, Denmark 97 km (60 mi; 52 nmi) west of Tjörn, Sweden
  • 57°44′13″N 10°6′32″E / 57.73694°N 10.10889°E / 57.73694; 10.10889
Aircraft

LN-PAA, the aircraft involved in the accident, pictured in 1987
Aircraft typeConvair CV-580
OperatorPartnair
IATA flight No.PD394
ICAO flight No.PAR394
Call signPARTNAIR 394
RegistrationLN-PAA
Flight originOslo Airport, Fornebu, Oslo, Norway
DestinationHamburg Airport, Hamburg, West Germany
Occupants55
Passengers50
Crew5
Fatalities55
Survivors0

Partnair Flight 394 was a chartered flight that crashed on 8 September 1989 off the coast of Denmark, 18 kilometres (10 nautical miles) north of Hirtshals. All 55 people on board the aircraft died, making this the second-deadliest aircraft accident in Demark after the 1945 crash of a Royal Air Force De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito in Copenhagen, which killed 125, and the deadliest accident involving a Convair CV-240 series. The accident was caused by improper maintenance and use of counterfeit aircraft parts.