FLIGHT FINDINGSAVIATION OCCURRENCE MAP
Back to map

Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230

26 May 2003 · Maçka, Trabzon, Turkey

Yakovlev Yak-42D · Controlled flight into terrain due to poor visibility

From Manas International Airport (BSZ) to Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ)

Report a problem

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
75 · all aircraft and ground
Ground fatalities
Unknown
Occupants
75
Survivors
0
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
Unknown
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
Airline

Yakovlev Yak-42D

Flight
UF4230
Aircraft type
Yakovlev YAK-42
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
UR-42352
Onboard fatalities
75
Route
From Manas International Airport (BSZ)To Zaragoza Airport (ZAZ)

Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.

From the Wikipedia article

Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230 was a chartered international passenger flight, a Yakovlev Yak-42D operated by Ukrainian UM Airlines, which crashed in 2003.

Flying from Manas International Airport, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to Zaragoza Airport, Spain, the Yak-42D tried to land at Trabzon Airport in Turkey to refuel on May 26, 2003, but, because of dense fog, it slammed into a mountain near Maçka, Trabzon. All 13 crew and 62 passengers were killed. It remains the third-worst crash in Turkish aviation history.

Accident

The Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Yakovlev Yak-42 was a chartered aircraft being used to transport Spanish troops after a four-month peacekeeping tour of Afghanistan. The final destination was Zaragoza Airport, but the aircraft attempted to stopover at Trabzon Airport in Turkey in order to refuel. The aircraft crashed into the side of a mountain near the town of Maçka, 15 mi from Trabzon, on its third attempt to land in dense fog. The pilot had stated that he could not see the runway; visibility was less than 10 m.

All crew and passengers were killed in the impact. The troops on board comprised 41 members of the army and 21 members of the air force. The aircraft was also carrying ammunition; explosions after the crash distributed the wreckage over a large area.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230” (revision 1344320619, 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: Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230
Article
Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230
Revision
1344320619 · 2026-03-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
Wikidata
Q2502052
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 "Ukrainian-Mediterranean Airlines Flight 4230" (page 41647486, revision 1344320619)
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
airline flight number 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.