In Poland, LOT Flight 7 crashes during final approach near Warsaw, killing 87 people, including a 14-man American boxing team.
The Tragic End of LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007
On March 14, 1980, the skies over Warsaw, Poland, became the scene of a profound aviation disaster. LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007, an Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft, was on its final approach to Okęcie Airport when the crew, facing an unexpected situation, made the critical decision to abort the landing and initiate a go-around maneuver.
A Catastrophic Mechanical Failure
Tragically, this attempt to regain altitude and circle back to the airport ended in catastrophe. All 87 individuals on board—comprising both crew members and passengers—lost their lives as the aircraft plummeted. Subsequent investigations painstakingly revealed the harrowing root cause: an uncontained engine failure. This devastating event was triggered by the catastrophic disintegration of a single turbine disc within one of the plane's engines. Crucially, forensic analysis later determined that this specific turbine disc harbored fundamental manufacturing faults, a fatal flaw that ultimately sealed the fate of Flight 007 and all its occupants.