1996 YOU youth fair aviation accident in Dortmund

The aviation accident at the YOU youth fair occurred on 6 June 1996 during the European youth fair YOU in Dortmund. A Bell UH-1D of the Special Air Mission Wing of the Federal Ministry of Defence crashed into a wooded area during a demonstration flight. Of the 14 occupants, 13 were killed. The accident is regarded as the most serious helicopter accident to date in the history of the Bundeswehr.

Sequence of events

The YOU, which today is regarded as the largest European youth fair, was held for the first time in the year of the accident. While the fair now also takes place in Berlin, the venue at the time was the grounds around the Dortmund Westfalenhallen.

On Corpus Christi 1996, the opening day of the event, the Special Air Mission Wing of the Federal Ministry of Defence offered public flights with a Bell UH-1D aircraft, and some of the seats for these sightseeing flights were raffled off during the fair. At the time of the accident the aircraft was occupied by three soldiers, five journalists and six fair visitors. Originally, the then Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Claudia Nolte, was also to have been on board the aircraft, but she was delayed. After the sightseeing flight took off at around 12:00, the accident aircraft, during a pull-out manoeuvre, came into contact with treetops first with its skids and then with its rotor blades, went out of control and crashed into the Großholthausener Mark woodland in the Kirchhörde district near the Bundesautobahn 45. After the only survivor of the crash, the tour manager of the Swiss singer DJ Bobo, had been freed from the wreck by first responders, the aircraft exploded.

Cause of the accident

According to the statements of the only survivor, the pilot had wanted to demonstrate some daring flight manoeuvres to his passengers, first pulling the aircraft up steeply and then immediately letting it dive down again. In doing so, the pilot had lost control of the aircraft. After the Ministry of Defence had initially ruled out pilot fault, the survivor's account was ultimately confirmed by the investigation report. After the accident, the Bundeswehr covered the funeral costs and paid a lump sum of 40,000 Deutsche Mark for each fatality.