2006 Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crash
Antonov An-24 · Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error and loss of situational awareness
From Priština Adem Jashari International Airport (PRN) to Košice International Airport (KSC)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 42 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 43
- Survivors
- 1
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- 1
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Antonov An-24
- Aircraft type
- Antonov AN-24
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- 5605
- Operator
- Slovak Air Force
- Onboard fatalities
- 42
- Route
- From Priština Adem Jashari International Airport (PRN)To Košice International Airport (KSC)
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Action/decision
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
On 19 January 2006, an Antonov An-24 aircraft operated by the Slovak Air Force crashed in northern Hungary, near the village of Hejce and town of Telkibánya. The airplane was carrying Slovak peacekeepers from Kosovo. Of the 43 people on board, only one survived. The crash remains the deadliest in the area of Hungary and the deadliest in Slovak history.
Background
The airplane involved in the crash was an Antonov An-24V, the 50-seat version of the Antonov An-24, a twin turboprop transport aircraft. The aircraft was manufactured on 31 October 1969 in the Soviet Union with the serial number 97305605.
The airplane was carrying Slovak peacekeepers who had finished a six-month tour of duty in NATO's KFOR mission in Kosovo. The airplane was flying from Pristina International Airport in Pristina, Kosovo to Košice International Airport in Košice, Slovakia.
Crash
At around 19:38 CET (18:38 GMT), the aircraft disappeared from air traffic controllers' radar screens. The aircraft crashed in snowy and forested terrain on Borsó Hill at an elevation of 700 meters (2,300 feet) near the Hungarian villages of Hejce and Telkibánya. The crash site is about 20 km from Košice and about 3 km from the Slovak border.
According to the Hungarian Disaster Management Agency, the plane hit the tops of trees before catching fire and crashing. Tibor Dobson, of the disaster prevention unit of Hungarian Ministry of the Interior, was quoted as saying that bodies and wreckage were scattered over a large area, and Hungarian police spokesman László Garamvölgyi was quoted as saying that it was -18 C at the crash site and that the fuselage was completely burnt out.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
According to Tibor Dobson of the disaster prevention unit of Hungarian Ministry of the Interior, the aircraft had strayed 3 km off the flight path outlined in the flight plan after Slovak air traffic controllers had taken over the flight from Hungarian controllers.
The investigation indicates that the pilot descended too early in the dark towards the lights of Košice.
Text from the Wikipedia article “2006 Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crash” (revision 1359758910, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 2006 Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crash
- Revision
- 1359758910 · 2026-06-17 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q471700
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "2006 Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crash" (page 11032893, revision 1359758910)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.