Investigation Summary
Flight 165 was a scheduled domestic service from Warsaw to Kraków. During the descent, the crew provided conflicting reports regarding their passage of the Jędrzejów VOR, giving three different times within a few minutes. Despite these discrepancies, the flight was cleared to descend to 1,200 meters. The crew reported difficulties receiving beacon signals and repeatedly requested their fix from the Balice radar operator, who was unable to locate the aircraft on his screen. The aircraft had actually overshot Kraków and was flying over the mountainous terrain of the Beskids. At 16:08 local time, the captain initiated a left turn, and seconds later, the aircraft impacted the mountain. The crash occurred in a region of southern Poland far beyond the normal approach path for Balice Airport.
Final Conclusions
The official accident report, published in 1970, attributed the crash to the captain becoming lost and failing to maintain situational awareness. The report did not provide a definitive explanation for why the aircraft was 50 kilometers off course or why the crew descended to a low altitude over mountainous terrain without a confirmed position. Much of the detailed documentation remained classified by the Polish People's Republic for 25 years.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Systems & Failure Modes
VOR/NDB Navigation
The crew reported difficulty receiving beacon signals, which contributed to their loss of situational awareness and the subsequent navigational error.
Ground Radar
The Balice radar operator was unable to identify the aircraft on his screen while the crew was requesting their position.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was an Antonov An-24B with registration SP-LTF.
- 02The crash site was located at an altitude of 1,200 metres on Polica mountain near Zawoja.
- 03Weather conditions at the time included a snowstorm and poor visibility.
- 04The official death toll is 53, including 47 passengers and 6 crew members.
- 05Among the passengers were 49 Poles, 3 Americans, and 1 Briton.
- 06The flight was commanded by Captain Czesław Doliński.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Radar Identification Procedures
Source ↗The investigation highlighted the critical failure of ground radar to identify the aircraft in mountainous terrain. Safety observations emphasized that radar operators must not clear aircraft for descent based on estimated positions when radar contact is not established, especially in regions with known terrain masking.
Navigational Fix Verification
Source ↗The accident underscored the necessity for crews to cross-check multiple navigational aids (VOR/NDB) and resolve conflicting time-over-fix reports before initiating descent into Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) over mountainous areas.
Known Controversies & Unanswered Questions
Discrepancy in Passenger Manifest
Reference ↗The official death toll is 53, but the LOT manifest reportedly listed 53 passengers and 5 crew members (total 58). Further confusion arose when Polish press agencies published only 46 surnames two days after the crash, leading to long-standing questions about the exact number and identity of those on board.
Classification of Investigation Records
Reference ↗Most documentation regarding the crash remained classified by the Polish government for 25 years, fueling theories about the true cause of the navigational error.