Condor Flight 316

Condor Flight 316 (flight number: DF316) was a Condor Flugdienst flight from Hannover-Langenhagen Airport to Reus Airport near Tarragona, Spain. On 20 July 1970, on this flight, a Boeing 737-100 (D-ABEL) collided over Tarragona with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee light aircraft of the Real Aero Club de Reus (EC-BRU). After the collision the Boeing 737 was able to land safely at Reus Airport. The Cherokee, on the other hand, crashed after the collision, killing everyone on board.

It was the first fatal incident involving a Boeing 737.

Accident sequence

The Boeing 737-100 had taken off from Hannover-Langenhagen Airport and was to bring holidaymakers who had booked stays on the Costa Daurada to Reus Airport near Tarragona.

During the landing approach, at around 19:30 local time, the aircraft collided with the Piper, which had just departed from Reus. The Boeing's left wing tore the Piper apart, and it fell to the ground. All three occupants were killed. The Boeing, by contrast, was able to land safely in Reus shortly afterwards.

Cause of the accident

The accident was caused by an error by the air traffic controller in Reus, who had sent the aircraft on a collision course. A further factor was that radio contact with the Piper had been conducted not in English, as is customary in aviation, but in Spanish. The pilot of the Condor aircraft could not understand the radio messages and therefore had no indication that a Piper was coming towards him.

After the accident

Condor voiced criticism of safety deficiencies resulting from the expansive growth of mass tourism in southern Europe: “In the Mediterranean region, many tourist airports [have] been built in the last decade that do not yet meet the latest technical standards”

The Boeing 737 was repaired after the accident and subsequently remained in service. From March 1971 it went back to Lufthansa and in October 1981 was sold to the newly founded airline PEOPLExpress. After that airline's takeover, the aircraft eventually passed into service with Continental Airlines, until it was finally retired on 27 January 1993, taken to the Mojave Air & Space Port and scrapped there.