Talk:1976 Zagreb mid-air collision

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30th anniversary[edit]

Thirty years ago, on 10 September 1976, the two aircraft collided over Zagreb killing 176 people on board.

Rest in peace all who died, and rest in peace Mr. Gradimir Tasic.

Jonathan McFly 00:00, 10 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Worst?[edit]

What exactly classifies this particular accident as "one of the worst accidents in aviation history"? I recently read every article on WP regarding aircraft accidents and noted many with greater loss of life and greater property damages. While I am sure that anyone involved in this accident, especially survivors of the victims, may feel an immense impact on their own lives, I fail to see a need to classify this as "one of the worst accidents in aviation history". The choice of words makes it seem slightly POV, at least that is how I took it. This is in no way meant to be a detraction from anyone who feels strongly about this article, merely an observation that the article does not seem to conform in this one tiny spot. Any comments from anyone?Radiooperator 04:58, 1 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • "Worst" shouldn't be used. "Deadliest" is okay. WhisperToMe (talk) 19:56, 25 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

BA/BEA[edit]

It should be left British Airways and not British European Airways, because BEA article says "...BEA ceased operations in 1974 when it was merged with the British Overseas Airways Corporation to form British Airways...", and the accident occured two years later in 1976. However they continuned using BEA callsign for some time... Comments ?


Jonathan McFly 08:37, 15 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]


What company logo was on the plane when it crashed ? If it said 'British Airways' then that's what we should state, if said 'B.E.A.' then the article should not say 'British Airways'. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 119.136.205.23 (talk) 14:56, 1 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The aircraft had been repainted with the British Airways wording by the time of the accident - see photo of accident A/C taken in June 1976 here; [1] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.4.57.101 (talk) 16:07, 2 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]
It appears that there are both BEA and British Airways logos on the spoons found after the accident: [2]. Of course, spoon is not something you change after the merger...  Imbe  hind 💊 12:41, 14 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Possible copyvio?[edit]

Seems like most of the text on this page is a slightly altered copy-paste from this page. --Action Jackson IV 21:27, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

it was in the references but someone removed it, see 20:56, 15 January 2006 160.218.189.60

you can find that text on few websites, not just on that one

Jonathan McFly 19:27, 30 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

executed or murdered?[edit]

The article mentions BA Flight 149, saying that one passenger was executed. Execution means lawfully putting someone to death after an appropriate judicial process. If this is not what happened, then the passenger was murdered, not executed. Robhowe163 (talk) 11:03, 20 August 2008 (UTC)Robert Howe[reply]

  • Hmmm - But murdered implies an illegal killing. With Iraq controlling Kuwait I don't think the killing was illegal (under Iraqi laws, anyway) WhisperToMe (talk) 20:01, 25 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Copyvio[edit]

I've just added a ref for the Lufthansa aircraft reporting the fireball. That entire paragraph is a word-for-word copy of the source, Mjroots (talk) 05:53, 2 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Motion picture[edit]

Wasn't there a late-1970s or early-1980s drama about this incident? I am about 99% sure that I recall seeing it on TV back in the 1980s, an European drama... may have been subtitled. If so it should be added to the article. -70.233.148.177 (talk) 04:08, 9 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]


There was a very good television documentary of the same name of this accident, British production I believe. If anyone can supply information on how to obtain a copy it would be appreciated. I studied this accient while training to be an Air Traffic Controller in Australia. I met Richard Weston while he was on a world lecture tour regarding the implications of the decision handed out to the controller(s). I hold dear a signed copy of his book but have lost my video copy of the documentary.

lenton1@ozemail.com.au

--203.217.79.82 (talk) 06:37, 13 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

You're thinking of Granada TV's Collision Course (1979), which dramatised the incident. 91.125.138.102 (talk) 17:37, 19 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

-31 or -32[edit]

I've edited this article to reflect the aircraft being a -32. That is what the AAIB reports describe it as. Please do not change it back to a -31 without explaining which source supports that information.

(The infobox picture is definitely of a -33; changed the text there appropriately). Pinkbeast (talk) 15:01, 20 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Based on discussion at User_talk:STH235SilverLover#1976_Zagreb_mid-air_collision, I suspect this change is often made because Aviation Safety Network lists it as a -31. http://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/McDonnell-Douglas/DC-9/47649,YU-AJR-Inex-Adria-Airways.php (which I'm not claiming is a RS to use in the article, merely speculating as to the reason for this discrepancy) claims it was built as a -31 in '74 then rebuilt as a -32 earlier in '76. That would explain it. Pinkbeast (talk) 03:07, 16 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

176 or 177?[edit]

The article says "All 176 people aboard both flights, plus one person on the ground, were killed, making it, at the time, the world's deadliest mid-air collision.[1]". But I couldn't find any other source for the person killed on the ground besides the referenced Time article. Even in the Croatian newspaper report, interviewed people from Vrbovec (site of the crash) don't mention anybody on the ground dying.

The AAIB report makes no mention of ground casualties either, that I can see. I agree it should be removed. Pinkbeast (talk) 16:26, 7 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Actually, the Time article says that "at least one woman, working on her farm, was killed by the debris". This seems specific enough ("at least one" put aside), but indeed I couldn't find other sources that mention ground casualties, not even Croatian articles that focus on the impact the accident had on the local population. So it appears that Time is in error here, and that the correct fatality figure is 176. GregorB (talk) 17:16, 14 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

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Accident section reads more like a novel than an encyclopedia[edit]

"When the implications of what was being said dawned on Erjavec, he glanced across to the upper-sector controller. At his station sat a stunned Tasić, white-faced with shock. Slowly he lifted the headset from his ears and placed it on the console in front of him." This seems more like something you'd find in a novel than an encyclopedia.BlueNexa (talk) 12:16, 20 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

New documentary[edit]

There is a 2 part documentary made recently by Croatian television, and can be found here:

  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xseTzHv0kFA
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_TynNI37ww

No subtitles, I'm afraid. RIP.  Imbe  hind 💊 12:29, 14 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The Granada Television one is also here: [3] — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.8.126.91 (talk) 10:50, 6 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]
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